Locals and tourists had long flocked to the 7.5-foot-tall bronze sculpture, painted white with water pouring out of its large, hollow eyes. Sculptures of two other famous characters, Miffy and My Melody, stood alongside Hello Kitty to complete the Codependent Fountain Tableau, an installation by American contemporary artist Tom Sachs.
The piece is owned by RFR, a Manhattan-based real estate investment firm that once also owned the W South Beach. In October 2024, RFR and co-owner Tricap sold the W South Beach for $400 million to Reuben Brothers, a private equity investment firm based in Geneva, Switzerland. Since RFR remains the owner of the Hello Kitty fountain, but not the hotel, the company removed the piece from the W in July 2024, three months before the hotel was sold.
Where Did the South Beach Hello Kitty Fountain Go?
While Miami is filled with New York transplants these days, the Hello Kitty fountain made the reverse journey. Sheldon Werdiger, marketing and design development executive at RFR, confirms the statue is now on display outside 17 State Street — an office building owned by the firm in Manhattan's Financial District — in keeping with the company's aim to integrate public art into its real estate ventures.The public did not receive notice or an explanation about the fountain's removal, so it was hard to ignore the empty W South Beach hotel entrance when it disappeared. Two front desk agents at the property told New Times that visitors still ask about the fountain and its two companion pieces. When guests learn the installation is permanently gone, they express disappointment.
"I feel like I grew up with the Hello Kitty fountain," Paola Rocha, a Miami local, tells New Times. "I thought it would be here forever." Bradley Dunham, a Florida native and videographer who covers Miami, agrees. "Every time I was in the neighborhood, I stopped by the hotel to take photos of the Hello Kitty fountain," he says.
An Instagram-Worthy Installation
Influencer and travel accounts once hawked the W South Beach fountains as an Instagram-worthy pilgrimage, with international tourists making the trek to Collins Avenue and 22nd Street to pose with them. Over the past year, that focus has shifted to New York City. Occasionally, commenters reminisce about having seen the pieces on Miami Beach, but Werdiger says they're staying at 17 State Street for the foreseeable future."Through our in-house art program, we regularly rotate works from the principals’ personal collection throughout building lobbies, amenity spaces, and public areas," he says.
The New York City installation includes only Hello Kitty and Miffy, and they no longer function as fountains — just sculptures. The water base has been replaced with green artificial turf, and without running water, Hello Kitty no longer cries.
The piece was created in 2007 for the Lever House Art Collection, part of RFR's public arts program. In 2008, it was installed in the Noguchi Gardens of Lever House, New York City's first all-glass office building. After spending three years there, it was relocated to W South Beach for Art Basel in 2011, where it remained until last summer (with some hiatuses).
The installation was temporarily loaned out and relocated to places like Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac in Paris in 2015 and Berlin's PalaisPopulaire art museum in 2022, but it always returned to 22nd and Collins. This time, the move appears to be permanent.
