Fans of the not-widely-loved Vaillancourt Fountain have just a few days left to pay their respects to the Brutalist landmark at Embarcadero Plaza, with the process to remove it set to start Monday.

The Chronicle reports that, after a long and protracted debate with preservationists and the artist who created it, the Vaillancourt Fountain will begin to be taken apart next week.

A crew hired by the San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department will begin removing grout from around the fountain's square concrete tubes starting on Monday, and within a week or two, the disassembly and removal will occur, all 700 tons of it.

The removal process had been put on hold last month following a last-ditch court filing in February by preservationists, and that motion for an injunction to halt the removal was denied by a judge on April 9. As the Chronicle reported, Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Ross sided with city officials and building inspectors who have said that the fountain is full of asbestos and is in poor enough physical shape that it poses a public safety hazard.

The group Friends of the Plaza haa been arguing that the city's findings regarding the cost to repair the fountain were overblown, and that the 1972 scuptural work by Canadian artist Armand Vaillancourt warranted preservation. Vaillancourt himself, now 96 years old, had traveled to the city to argue for its preservation as well — the piece's actual title is Quebec Libre!, and if you look at Vaillancourt's Wikipedia page, it seems to be one of the main things the artist is known for.

A lawsuit to save the fountain is still scheduled for a bench trial in August, per the Chronicle, with Judge Ross presiding, and on the off chance that Ross rules in favor of the preservationist plaintiffs, the city could be on the hook to reassemble the fountain.

Plans to remove the fountain first came to light a year ago, only after some renderings were revealed of a proposed $32.5 million renovation of Embarcadero Plaza that will combine it with the adjacent Sue Bierman Park. Those renderings did not include the fountain, which raised alarms, even though Rec and Parks at first denied that they had any firm plans to remove the fountain.

The Northern California chapter of the modernist movement preservation group Docomomo jumped in to support efforts to protect the fountain, calling it "a striking example of Brutalist architecture."

"Initially conceived to complement the now-demolished Embarcadero Freeway, the fountain has outlived its original context and evolved into a freestanding artistic statement," the group wrote. "This resilient monument has survived the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake and multiple attempts at removal over its lifetime."

The fountain has been non-functional for two years, and fenced off, but Rec & Parks has said that homeless individuals have nonetheless used the concrete fountain's tubes for shelter, presenting a further hazard.

The cost to remove the fountain and put its pieces in storage is said to be around $4 million — while the city said the cost to repair and restore the fountain would be around $29 million, which would be cost-prohibitive, given that is almost the entire estimated cost of the plaza renovation.

The city's Arts Commission is still planning to make a final decision, in the next three years, on the permanent deaccession of the fountain.

"The Arts Commission has worked closely with project partners and conservation experts to develop a plan that prioritizes careful documentation, preservation, and respect for the artwork," says Director of Cultural Affairs Ralph Remington in a statement to the Chronicle. “Our goal is to ensure that every step is carried out with intention and with a clear sense of our responsibility as stewards of the city’s civic art collection."

Previously: Supervisors OK Taking a Wrecking Ball to Vaillancourt Fountain, Rejecting Last-Chance Appeal