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Giant metal die that washed up in Coeur d’Alene goes on display

The giant metal die washed up in downtown Coeur d'Alene in 2017 and went viral soon after. Now, it's a public art piece.

COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho — A Lake Coeur d'Alene legend is finally a piece of public art.

Three years ago, we first brought you the story of a giant metal die that washed up in downtown Coeur d'Alene. It went viral soon after and sparked a series of fun stories at KREM.

Leaders with the City of Coeur d’Alene eventually put it into storage – but now it’s back on display not far from where it washed up at Independence Point.

City parks director Bill Greenwood remembers the fateful day in 2017 when the die washed up.

"There were a lot of folks I could see out there on the beach taking pictures,” he said.

But where did it come from?

We later learned that the die, which is believed to be an old water tank that weighs well over 1,000 pounds, first appeared on the shores of a property along the Coeur d’Alene River in Cataldo, Idaho, in 2001.

During a period of flooding in 2008, the tank then floated away and washed up at Driftwood Point.

There, it sat for some time before a local property owner decided to spruce it up with some white dots – making it a die.

In 2017, it washed away and appeared in downtown Coeur d’Alene.

Greenwood says no one came forward to claim the die, so the city took possession of it.

RELATED: 'Gift from the lake' | Once mysterious metal die to find home at Independence Point

The plan all along was to place it in a park as fun piece, but other projects got in the way – that was until Greenwood opted to stop kicking the can.

"I, this year, asked the staff to go ahead and get that thing up and running again so we could place it near where it came in,” he said.

The die was officially installed on Tuesday and it didn’t take long for people to notice.

"It helps our community see that we're still proceeding as normal,” Greenwood added.

Some added bonuses: the art piece wasn’t expensive to make or a hassle and to install, and isn’t controversial.

RELATED: 'Unhideable' book from Stephen Colbert arrives at Coeur d'Alene Library

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