‘Thinker’ mulls over new home

Art lovers and laymen alike have long speculated about what Rodin’s famous “Thinker” -- the iconic sculpture of a man hunched over in contemplation, chin on hand -- was brooding about.

But it’s easy to guess what might be on the mind of the bronze sculpture that’s sat for decades in the elaborate lobby of the Renaissance-style Subway Terminal Building in downtown Los Angeles: He’s probably trying to figure out where he’ll wind up next.

He’s got good reason. The developers in charge of converting the old subway station, L.A.’s first, into apartments and retail space aren’t quite sure what to do with him.

“We considered keeping it in the lobby,” says Kevin Ratner, a vice president at developers Forest City Residential West, of the sculpture that was discovered to be a faux Rodin earlier this year.

“It’s certainly been an integral part of the lobby for a long time. But it came down to the mundane issue of needing to do construction there. And we were trying to take the station back to what it was like when it was built.”

Although the sculpture, which sits on a marble pedestal, has long been associated with the lobby, it was not included in the original drawings for the terminal, which opened in 1925 as part of the Red Car trolley system.

The developers briefly considered hauling the “Thinker” away entirely; another recent plan had him relocating to the roof. For now, Ratner says, they’ll move him out of sight, with the intention of somehow including him in the commercial space to be constructed after the apartments open in March.

Ratner says there’s been a lot of interest in the Rodin, and he jokes they should “hold a competition” to figure out exactly what to do with him.

“We could do a reality show about it,” he says.