3,700-pound sculpture you can sit on is flown up to Palm Springs tram

The Palm Springs Art Museum on Wednesday moved a 3,700-pound carved granite bench up to its new perch at 8,500 feet on a patio at the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway high above the desert city.

It may be “one of the few pieces of public art at this elevation in the nation,” a museum statement says.

The bench, by artist Bruce Beasley, is called “New Horizon” and was flown by helicopter. It sits at the north patio of the tramway’s Mountain Station in the San Jacinto Mountains.

Though it’s a work of art, visitors may pause to sit on it and enjoy the view.

The sculpture was a gift from Palm Springs philanthropist Bradford W. Bates to mark the museum‘s 75th anniversary and the tram’s 50th anniversary.

“I wanted to contribute something significant that might offer the casual visitor a deeper understanding and appreciation of the area,” Bates said in a statement.

He’s also a founding member of the museum’s new Architecture and Design Center which will make its debut Nov. 9.

Beasley’s work is found at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, the L.A. County Museum of Art and the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris, among others.

An inscription with the bench acknowledges the donation by Bates and bears this ode to the desert city:

“Palm Springs:
A place to freely live, design, and love.
A place where we can be who we thought
we could never be.
A healing and holy place for the entire world to see.”

To see the sculpture, it’s a 10-minute ride up more than 2,600 feet to the top of the tram, which has a restaurant and bar too. Tickets cost $23.95 for adults, $16.95 for children.

Info: Palm Springs Art Museum, Palm Springs Aerial Tramway