A Beloved Statue Is Stuck Inside The Closed Burlington Center Mall

The Burlington Center Mall completely closed its doors in September, and there are plans to demolish it and build a new shopping center in its place. However, there is something very precious still inside the mall:

It's a statue of Petal the Elephant that used to be the center of the mall. The sculptor is now trying to save it.

Zenos Frudakis, who created the statue (as well as the fountain around it) is trying to save it before the demolition.

'Petal the Elephant,' is an elephant who used to be at the Philadelphia Zoo. Riding on top of Petal is a little boy. The elephant, the little boy, and the fountain still sit in the center of the now-closed mall.

So Zenos wants to get them out before the mall is demolished. He's even started a GoFundMe page and has raised thousands of dollars in order to save Petal and the Young Boy statue. The funds will be used to pay for removal of the statue and fountain. It'll take quite a team to get them out of the mall because of their large size.

Zenos is afraid that an agreement won't be reached until it's too late. He's worried that Petal and the Young Boy will be destroyed along with the rest of the mall during the upcoming demolition.

Zenos wants to save this sculpture so badly because it holds a special place in his heart. He knows many have grown up going to the mall, which means, many have grown up with memories of the statue.

Fingers crossed an agreement is reached in time and Petal and the Young Boy can go home with Zenos.

(NJ.com)