GREENFIELD — Eight months after thieves broke open and robbed the “Money Tree” in the Big Y plaza, damaging it and making off with more than $100,000, the iconic sculpture has been fully renovated — just without the ATM inside.
Greenfield Savings Bank President and CEO Thomas Meshako explained the only ATM model that could fit inside the tree sculpture, also referred to as the “ATM Tree,” was a 2008-era front-loading machine. However, the bank was struggling to secure insurance for that model.
“Our insurance company was saying that they would not insure an ATM in that same location. You need to have guardrails and things in front of the machines so that they aren’t as easy to pull out,” Meshako said.
Instead, Meshako said, the bank will soon install a modern ITM, or interactive teller machine, adjacent to the structure, allowing customers to speak with bank tellers remotely as they drive through the plaza. He expects the ITM to be up and running in September.
“That’s why we’re building the ITM next to it, which is an ATM that has the screen that you tap and you talk to a live teller,” Meshako said. “It really gives you a lot more services and it’s a more personalized banking experience for our customers.”
Given the fame of the 25-foot-tall sculpture, Meshako said he did not wish to take it down completely. The sculpture attracted visitors from across the country, such as a New York Mycological Society member who posted photos of the former ATM on Facebook.
Instead, the bank president recruited the help of Thor Holbek, the local artist who sculpted the tree out of his own unique combination of fiberglass, cement and other materials more than 17 years ago.
“I put in this door, creating a little elf door into the interior. It’s a fun little addition,” Holbek said of the recent changes. “Then I used fiberglass again to repair the whole structure outside as well as the inside. The roof had to be done, redone — parts of it. The roof is on top of the tree stump that was worn out. It has so many different shapes and forms, so it’s very difficult to keep maintained and very few people can do such work.”
Holbek clarified that the structure’s elf door is only a visual effect; it does not open.
The tree’s original design, he said, was inspired by Disney World’s Tree of Life attraction. He said that while he’s glad to be given the opportunity to upgrade the structure more than 17 years after he created it, he was disappointed that someone vandalized his art.
“It’s just sad that money is more important to [the thieves] than, first of all, the business of the bank, but also the artwork,” Holbek said. “They just kind of damaged it and it’s sad. I would imagine the bank’s happy; they seem to be pleased with it. It will last a long, long time moving forward.”
“It’s something that we wanted to repair because we felt it was part of the community. People always stop to take pictures. It’s something that became part of our community and we just didn’t want to lose that,” Meshako said. “It’s part of Greenfield and part of our landscape. Let’s make sure that it’s here for a long time.”
