BRECKENRIDGE, Colo. -- The success of a giant wooden troll also proved to be its downfall. Breckenridge dismantled the art installation named 'Isak Heartstone' early Thursday morning, just two days after the town council voted to remove it.
The friendly-faced troll welcomed hikers along a trail situated near a residential area. People soon began flocking to see the larger than life work of art created by Denmark native Thomas Dambo. The art installation was commissioned by Breckenridge Creative Arts for $40,000.
Complaints started coming in as more and more people went to go find the troll. The Town of Breckenridge said there were issues with traffic, trash, parking and safety concerns in the winter with ice on the trail.
"I can kind of see both sides of it being a resident of the neighborhood but for me personally I never had problems with traffic or illegal parking or anything like that," said Jessica Johnson, who lives in the neighborhood.
After the town council voted to remove it, the artist made a public plea on Facebook to save his work. The next day he posted photos of the troll being removed and said, "Do you have a warm home for a heart broken troll?"
Breckenridge business owners can't seem to understand why the town would get rid of an attraction that they saw as wildly popular.
"October and then November are two of our slowest months out here, and it’s just crazy how much business the troll brought here and to other small businesses around the county," said Brandon Munoz, owner of Stir-Pan Creamery.
Even on the day the troll was dismantled, Munoz's first customers of the day went to the location hoping to see it.
"They went to go see him at 9 a.m. and they saw him get torn down and then came in here," said Munoz.
It's unclear if the troll will reappear in Breckenridge or possibly be moved to another location. For now, Heartsone is sitting in an undisclosed storage facility.
"We were able to actually salvage a lot of key elements of the piece, those are going to go into a safe storage facility in town with the hopes and the possibility that we are working to potentially in the future find a new location for it," said Haley Littleton, a spokesperson for the Town of Breckenridge.