MILWAUKEE — For the next few weeks, the area where the 5’6” statue of Henry Winkler loomed large near the Milwaukee River will look a bit empty. 

What You Need To Know

  • The Bronze Fonz was installed in Milwaukee along the Riverwalk in 2008

  • It was taken in for routine refurbishments in January 2022

  • Vanguard Sculpture Services will work on restoring the statue

  • Visit MKE estimates the project will cost a ‘couple thousand’ dollars

“The Bronze Fonz really just had a rough week, so he decided to hop on his motorcycle and head on over to Leon’s for some burgers and frozen custard,” joked Lindsey McKee of Visit MKE. 

All jokes aside, the Bronze Fonz was actually taken to Beth Sahagian-Allsopp and her team at Vanguard Sculpture Services to be refurbished. 

“He’s definitely an icon,” Sahagian-Allsopp said about the statue. "Evidently, people love it."

The love has started to physically show on the metallic Fonzie, too. 

“Where the areas are more shiny are where people touch the sculpture a lot,” Sahagian-Allsopp noted. 

And, of course, it has had to deal with the winter elements. 

“Where you see it’s green, that’s where the bronze is starting to oxidize, and that’s from salt mainly, when they salt the Riverwalk, so that’s going to accelerate that,” Sahagian-Allsopp said. 

The refurbishment process starts by removing the current finish on the Bronze Fonz. 

“Once the old finish is removed completely and he’s clean, we’ll make sure there’s no other damage to the sculpture and then we would restore the sculpture to it’s original finish,” Sahagian-Allsopp said. 

That process will take a few weeks. 

Visit MKE, the group that owns the statue, said it wanted to get the refurbishment done now, in February, so it can be ready for the warmer weather when more locals and tourists are taking selfies with it. 

“Really just something to spruce him up a bit and make sure he’s looking all fresh,” McKee added. 

One thing Sahagian-Allsopp hopes changes once the Bronze Fonz is back at his Riverwalk home is that people stop climbing on it. 

She said people climb on the statue, causing scratches and other damages she and her team will work to fix. 

“We know that he’s going to be touched, but to really avoid that more damaging interaction would be really helpful, to keep him looking good,” Sahagian-Allsopp said. 

So, while it may look empty, there’s no need to worry. The “Happy Days” of taking selfies with the Bronze Fonz will return in just a few weeks.