Nittany Lion Shrine - wikipedia Nittany Lion Shrine Nittany Lion Shrine The Lion Shrine after renovation, March 2014 Artist Heinz Warneke Year October 24, 1942 ( 1942 - 10 - 24 ) Type Sculpture Condition Renovated Location University Park Owner The Pennsylvania State University Accession October 24, 1942 Website www.psu.edu/ur/about/nittanyshrine.html The Nittany Lion Shrine is a large mountain lion sculpture carved by Heinz Warneke located at the University Park campus of the Pennsylvania State University. Contents 1 History 2 Incidents 3 Gallery 4 Nittany Lion Shrine replicas 5 References History The Nittany Lion Shrine at Pennsylvania State University was dedicated on October 24, 1942 during Homecoming. Animalier Heinz Warneke and stonecutter Joseph Garatti created it from a 13 - ton block of Indiana Limestone. The shrine was chosen from six models submitted by Warneke. The shrine is a gift of the class of 1940 and rests in a natural setting of trees near Recreation Building. In 2013 the shrine was renovated to improve the lighting, add a sidewalk, and add large decorative stones. The improvement was the gift by the Penn State 's class of 2012. Incidents In 1966 Sue Paterno ( wife of football coach Joe Paterno ), and a friend secretly splashed water - soluble orange paint on the Nittany Lion statue the week of the Syracuse game. Later that week Syracuse fans covered the statue in oil - based paint, which was tougher to remove. Since then, students guard the Lion Shrine every homecoming. Actually, six Syracuse University students painted the Nittany Lion on Wednesday night, Nov. 2, 1966. The six students had driven from Syracuse to State College that evening with an old, air - loaded fire extinguisher filled with orange paint. Arriving on the Penn State campus, they found the Nittany Lion statue flood lit, deserted and completely clean. Within minutes they had painted the lion, jumped back in their car and driven away from campus, undetected. On the way out of town they spotted a sign for Beaver Stadium, and turned into the parking lot there, prepared to paint the goal posts orange as well. This proved their undoing when the police at the Stadium ( guarding the ABC Television equipment for the Saturday game broadcast ) switched on the Stadium lights and raced towards the end zone where the students were. As the students fled, one of them became tangled climbing over the 5 - foot high chain - link fence surrounding the field. He was taken into custody by the police, and released the following morning. The students were subsequently brought before the SU Student Court, but the case was dismissed as a simple `` college prank ''. In addition, the student paper ( The Daily Orange ) published an editorial lauding the students and helped organize a fund of student donations to pay for the sandblasting required to remove the paint. The clean up was nearly complete by game - time on Nov. 5th. This prank re-ignited a tradition that had become dormant among eastern football schools ' rivalries. Attempts at similar pranks were then repeated many times in subsequent years. In another football weekend incident in 1978, the Lion Shrine was vandalized when a blunt object was used to break off the statue 's right ear. The original sculptor -- Heinz Warneke -- was alive at the time and, with some difficulty, was able to match the stone and repair the damaged ear. This incident led to the site being guarded during home football games. The right ear was vandalized again in 1997. In 2003 and 2018, the ear was broken off again, but it is unsure whether or not it was due to vandalism. Gallery Wikimedia Commons has media related to Nittany Lion Shrine. Nittany Lion Shrine replicas Almost every one of the Pennsylvania State University Commonwealth campuses has a replica of the Nittany Lion Shrine. This gallery contains pictures from several campuses throughout Pennsylvania. Penn State Brandywine Penn State DuBois Penn State Lehigh Valley Penn State Schuylkill References Jump up ^ Reed, Tom ( October 25, 2007 ). `` IF U. GO : Penn State ''. Cleveland Plain Dealer. Dispatch Publishing. Jump up ^ `` Renovated Nittany Lion Shrine once again open for visitors ''. September 5, 2013. Retrieved 5 March 2014. Jump up ^ Viera, Mark ( September 11, 2008 ). `` The Past for Syracuse and Penn State Is Now Present ''. New York Times. Jump up ^ Syracuse University Daily Orange / vol 64, No. 39, Nov. 14, 1966, page 1, page 2 - Editorial Jump up ^ `` Nittany Lion Shrine suffers damage to limestone ear ''. Retrieved 2012 - 07 - 26. Jump up ^ http://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2018/02/28/penn-state-nittany-lion-shrine-repaired/ The Pennsylvania State University Located in : State College, Pennsylvania Academics College of Agricultural Sciences College of Arts and Architecture Smeal College of Business College of Communications College of Earth and Mineral Sciences College of Education College of Engineering College of Health and Human Development College of Information Sciences and Technology College of the Liberal Arts Eberly College of Science Graduate School Schreyer Honors College School of Nursing School of International Affairs Dickinson Law Penn State Law Great Valley School of Graduate Professional Studies College of Medicine Pennsylvania College of Technology School of Hospitality Management Athletics Sports Penn State Nittany Lions Baseball Men 's Basketball Women 's Basketball Field Hockey Football Men 's Ice Hockey Women 's Ice Hockey Men 's Lacrosse Women 's Lacrosse Men 's Soccer Women 's Soccer Men 's Volleyball Women 's Volleyball Wrestling Facilities Beaver Stadium Bryce Jordan Center Golf Courses Pegula Ice Arena Penn State Ice Pavilion Medlar Field at Lubrano Park Rec Hall Rivalries Alabama Maryland Michigan State Minnesota Ohio State Pittsburgh Syracuse West Virginia Spirit Legion Of Blue Alma Mater Blue Band Fight On, State Nittany Lion ( mascot ) The Nittany Lion Buildings Academic buildings Berkey Creamery Old Main Palmer Museum of Art IST Building Radiation Science & Engineering Center Residence halls University libraries Campuses : Commonwealth Abington Altoona Berks Beaver Brandywine DuBois Erie ( Behrend College ) Fayette ( Eberly Campus ) Greater Allegheny Harrisburg ( Capital College ) Hazleton Lehigh Valley Mont Alto New Kensington Schuylkill Shenango University Park ( Main campus ) Wilkes - Barre Worthington Scranton York Campuses : Special Mission Dickinson Law Great Valley School of Graduate Professional Studies Milton S. Hershey Medical Center and College of Medicine Penn State Law World Campus Pennsylvania College of Technology Departments Cancer Institute Harold and Inge Marcus Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering Research Applied Research Laboratory Garfield Thomas Water Tunnel Penn State Lunar Lion Team Media The Daily Collegian Penn State Law Review Penn State University Press WKPS ( 90.7 FM ) WPSU ( 91.5 FM ) WPSU - TV Onward State People Alumni Athletic directors Coaches Faculty Olympians Presidents George W. Atherton Eric J. Barron ( current president ) Joe Paterno Fred Lewis Pattee Jerry Sandusky Graham Spanier Student life Army ROTC Air Force ROTC Penn State IFC / Panhellenic Dance Marathon ( THON ) Penn State Thespians Penn State Women 's Ice Hockey Club Penn State Glee Club Mount Nittany Nittany Lion Shrine Old Coaly State College Related History Joe Paterno statue Nittany Lion Shrine Child sex abuse scandal Death of Tim Piazza Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Nittany_Lion_Shrine&oldid=836078964 '' Categories : Pennsylvania State University campus Outdoor sculptures in Pennsylvania 1942 sculptures Talk Contents About Wikipedia Add links This page was last edited on 12 April 2018, at 15 : 36. About Wikipedia

Question: where is the lion statue at penn state
Answer: in a natural setting of trees near Recreation Building