"Dawn Of The Dead" Fans Create Online Petition To Save Monroeville Mall Bridge

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- A renovation at Monroeville Mall has sparked an online petition.

The horror classic "Dawn of the Dead" was filmed at the mall, and fans want to save one its well-known features.

It's a wooden footbridge over a fish pond, and it reminds movie fans what the mall looked like when the movie was filmed in the '70s.

Close to 2,600 fans of the horror classic have put their names on an online petition to save the bridge.

Tony Buba, a local filmmaker and one of the movie's extras, says the bridge was the last part of what used to be in the mall.

The clock tower. The ice rink. All have disappeared over the years.

At the Living Dead Museum in Evans City, they have a scaled-down version of part of the mall and a host of other memorabilia from the film.

They say they get visitors from all over the world.

"It is not only the last of the original decor of the mall, it's the last part of the mall that was in 'Dawn of the Dead.' And so, it just sort of marks the end of that era," said Kevin Kriess, the museum's curator.

Once mall management heard the outcry over the bridge, they had the contractor take it apart so it can be rebuilt somewhere else. The railings and bridge bottom were removed intact.

"We understand it's a very important piece of the mall's history," said spokesperson Stacey Keating. "We understand how special it is to loyal fans of the movie."

Kriess said he'd be happy to put it on display in his museum. And if not there, he would be pleased to know people can see it somewhere.

The mall spokesperson says the bridge will donated either to the Heinz History Center or the Living Dead Museum.

They're expected to decide by the end of next week.

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