Pieces of a Huntsville religious icon are going home in the hands of the faithful today.
Tiles from a large mosaic called The Cosmic Christ will be handed out to anyone who wants one starting at 6 p.m. this evening. The image has been a staple of downtown Huntsville’s skyline since the 1970s, but is being taken down due to wear and tear. The plan is to replace the mosaic with another over the next five years. The project is expected to cost around $1.5 million.
The Cosmic Christ mosaic has the local nickname of ‘Eggbeater Jesus.” This comes from the shape of the bottom half of Jesus on the image resembling a whisk.
Travis Collins is the Pastor of the First Baptist Church where the mosaic is located. He says it's past time to spruce it up.
“As beautiful as it has been, over the years, with the elements, the rain, the wind and so on, it just has become battered. It was put up in 1974 and, frankly, has been falling ever since.”
Collins says the new mosaic will be an updated image with more modern materials. It will still depict the now-iconic “Eggbeater Jesus,” but according to Collins, it will be like a higher definition image when the renovation is finished.