Hoberman Arch, icon of the 2002 Winter Olympics, reinstalled in SLC

The 2002 Winter Olympics icon makes a triumphant return.

After nearly a decade in the shadows, Hoberman Arch is back in Utah’s capital city.

Crews had installed the 31,000-pound, 4,000-piece aluminum net at Salt Lake City International Airport late Thursday morning.

It was the first time since 2014 that the structure – one of the most recognizable landmarks of the Utah 2002 Winter Olympics – has been on public display.

The semi-circular aluminum mesh is 36 feet tall, 72 feet wide, and opens and closes like the iris of an eye. It was the centerpiece of the Medals Plaza—the Arc de Triomphe, so to speak, for victorious Olympic athletes—when the world’s attention turned to Salt Lake City for the Games.

After the games, the arch was moved to Rice-Eccles Stadium on the University of Utah campus. In 2014, the US asked the city to take back the artwork.

In 2015, parts of the arch were stolen from a municipal confiscation lot on the west side. After the theft, the arch was moved to an undisclosed location indoors.

It can now be seen near a section of road leading from the airport passenger pickup and drop-off curbs to Interstate 80. And when Salt Lake City hosts the Olympics again—say, in 2030 or 2034—it will be there to greet the incoming athletes and visitors.

The airport plans to hold an official unveiling on Tuesday.