'It's a mess:' Rain prolongs cleanup after Harley-Davidson's 115th Anniversary Celebration

MILWAUKEE -- All good things must come to an end -- including Harley-Davidson's 115th Anniversary Celebration. On Monday, Sept. 3, as the bikes rolled out, the fog rolled in.

Veterans Park after H-D 115th Anniversary Celebration

"Once you get in here, it's a mess," said Sterling Bacon with Mighty Loud Entertainment.

Veterans Park on Labor Day looked more like a mud pit than a centerpiece of H-D's big party.

"We're having to tow almost every vehicle off the property. We're even having to tow the tow trucks off the property," said Bacon.

Veterans Park after H-D 115th Anniversary Celebration

Mother Nature prolonged cleanup efforts throughout the city.

"It's like quicksand. You'll lose your shoes in it. There are places where the mud is shin-deep," said Bacon.

Meantime, Rhett "Rotten" Giordano was packing up, and preparing to head out to other cities on his tour.

"Our famous saying around here is 'watch your teeth,'" said Giordano.

His team would spend close to 12 hours disassembling the Wall of Death.

Veterans Park after H-D 115th Anniversary Celebration

"A lot of people see the fun part of riding, but at the end of the day it's a job, and it takes a skilled construction worker to get this stuff down," said Giordano.

Rhett "Rotten" Giordano

The barrel-shaped wooden cylinder is made up of 20 walls, each weighting 400 to 500 pounds.

"A lot of might. A lot of muscle, and of course, we use a whole lot of heart," said Giordano.

While it may have been coming down, it won't be gone for too long.

"It becomes somewhat of a melting pot and a place for people to gather. We'll be back for the 120th anniversary," said Giordano.

Veterans Park after H-D 115th Anniversary Celebration

A spokesman for Milwaukee County Parks told FOX6 Harley-Davidson is responsible for restoring Veterans Park to its original state, including repairing turf damage -- at the company's cost, issuing this statement:

"Per our contract with H-D, they are responsible for restoring the site to its original condition - including turf damage - at their cost. They are finalizing a contract with a landscape company to do the restoration. Restoration work is slated to begin on Wednesday. At this point H-D is working to move out all their equipment from the show site. H-D is a long time partner of the Parks and Milwaukee County and is and always has been committed to building our partnership, which has included maintaining, restoring and improving Parks for community benefit."