King Louis statue removed from downtown Louisville

LOUISVILLE, Ky (WDRB) -- The King Louis XVI statue in downtown Louisville has been removed.

Crews began working Thursday morning to remove the statue at the corner of Sixth and Jefferson streets, which suffered damage during protests in Louisville, including a broken hand and spray paint.

City leaders said the decision to remove the statue was made to avoid further destruction and to prevent people in the area from getting injured.

The King Louis statue will be taken to a storage facility where it will be restored. Its future will be discussed after a conservation assessment is completed.

Metro Councilman Anthony Piagentini (R-19) believes the statue should eventually come out of storage and be placed at its original location.

"It is a landmark," he said. "I want to see it restored after it's cleaned and we're back into some level of normalcy related to the city and the current civil unrest. We need to progress, all societies do, to change, alter and improve themselves and improve relations amongst all people. At the same time, you have to balance that against erasure of history."

Others who were grilling out at Jefferson Square Park on Thursday said the statue should never return.

"If you bring something back, you need to bring something back that will engulf the community and embrace the community," said Gina, who didn't want to share her last name. "We don't need things like that back."

Gina, a regular at the park who is often found praying with people, questions the timing of the statue's removal, ahead of the Kentucky Derby and an impending decision on the Breonna Taylor case.

"Why now?" she asked. "It's been over 100 days."

The King Louis statue has been downtown since it was gifted to the city in 1967.