The artwork by Marco Cochrane first showed up at Burning Man in 2013. The installation, which will be lit up at night, will make its debut at Union Square on Jan. 29, followed by an official welcome party with a DJ and full bar on Feb. 6.

Merchants in the area hope that the sculpture will spark a revival of the downtown shopping district, which has been decimated by the pandemic, looted by thieves, and has had high-end stores close up shop in recent years.

“This work of art will be a huge draw for the region,” said Marisa Rodriguez, CEO of the Union Square Alliance, which is organizing the installation of “R-Evolution.”

Rodriguez said that the number of visitors expected to come see the artwork may hit the 7 million mark. She added that the numbers rival those of Bloom, the city’s annual flower show that starts in March and runs through September.

“The people who come to see the sculpture will need a cup of coffee and they’ll need dinner and a place to stay,” she said. “They may want to go shopping or catch a show. This will be a huge boost and economic driver.”

Rodriguez added that public art installations also provide a space that not only draws tourists in but also attracts members of the community and encourages them to get involved with the city again.

“Every world-class city deserves a thriving city center and that is what Union Square represents for the region,” she said. “It is a perfect place to have an experience of this magnitude — a magnificent sculpture that is lit up and breathing and representing feminine strength, empowerment, and balance.”

The idea of placing the sculpture in Union Square was conceived by Building 180, a women-run art organization.

Founder Shannon Riley pitched bringing the sculpture, which also includes a mechanical element that is meant to mimic breathing for one hour a day.

“San Francisco is going through a tough time, but I believe it will overcome that and be the city that it has been,” Riley said.

But not everyone is sold on the idea.

Javier Perez, an artist who moved to San Francisco from Cuba, told the Washington Examiner that while he supports public art, it is not necessarily the fix the city needs.

“People are getting robbed, their tires stolen. … You can see people with needles sticking out of their necks walking around near [the subway stop],” he said. “Get them help, clean up the city, help the stores, and then bring in public art. There is healing power in it but right now, the city needs something more.”

Perez said things have gotten so bad that he is considering moving to Miami.

“There are a lot of things wrong here,” he added. “I don’t know when it’ll start to turn around, but I’ve got a kid and I can’t raise him here.”

Hoping to usher in a new era for California’s fourth-largest city is Daniel Lurie, a billionaire heir who was sworn in Wednesday as mayor.

San Franciscans voted former Mayor London Breed out of office in November 2024, blaming her for the city’s failure to bounce back as quickly as others after the pandemic. They also took her to task on the growing drug epidemic, property crime, and a homelessness crisis that has led to an economic downturn as well as the mass exodus in the Union Square district.

Lurie told the Washington Examiner that some of his main priorities would be revitalizing the downtown district and providing incentives for businesses to stay.

Lurie’s campaign ran on a tough-on-crime platform, promising to tackle open-air drug use and homelessness problems facing San Francisco. As mayor-elect, he did eight ride-alongs with police officers and made visits to each of the city’s police precincts.

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He also announced a new chief of public safety position that will focus on “neighborhood safety, street behavior, emergency preparedness and response.”

His office did not respond to requests by the Washington Examiner for comment on the art installation.