ATLANTA — To some, the metal tower supporting a giant peach atop an Atlanta building was about as popular as a freeway-snarling ice storm.

It was so unpopular that when it was removed recently, employees at the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers building celebrated by drinking champagne.

The peach was erected in 1994, shortly before Atlanta hosted the 1996 Olympic Games.

Max Mount Jr., the local IBEW president, said employees hated the ugly peach.

Mount said the peach tower belonged to an ad agency, which leased the space. He said that when that lease expired recently, the IBEW wasted no time in plucking it from its perch.

Mount said IBEW employees even celebrated its removal by drinking champagne.