The Cuyahoga County Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Monument was dedicated on the Fourth of July, 1894, to honor the memory of the more than 9,000 Cuyahoga County veterans of the Civil War. The small but impressive structure, with a 125-foot column topped by a statue named “Goddess of Freedom,” holds a place of prominence in Cleveland’s Public Square.
In August 2006, the Cuyahoga County Commissioners called for a modest renovation, cleaning, and relighting of the monument, under the supervision of county architect Berj A. Shakarian, AIA, CSI. The $1 million cost was to be raised by a nonprofit foundation, the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Monument Support Group.
Extensive research by the Cleveland design firm Westlake Reed Leskosky (with Peter van Dijk, FAIA) determined that more extensive work was required than originally anticipated. The roof needed re-caulking. The marble tablets were bent out of shape and discolored. The stained-glass windows needed restoration. In all, the cost would double. Undeterred, the support group raised nearly $2 million from state and county funds and contributions from foundations, businesses, veterans’ groups, and private individuals.
The work began in late 2008. Perhaps the most unusual technical problem had to do with the commemorative tablets. The 4x7-foot slabs, about an inch thick, each weighing 350 pounds, had to be cleaned so that the marble veining could show through the original yellow tint. The traditional technique, mud-based poultice, was ruled out. Research determined that a latex-based cleaning product, if applied and allowed to dry for 13-15 hours, would form a film that could be peeled off. Though tedious, the technique cut the usual cleaning time from three months to three weeks.
Many of the many of the marble slabs were bent out of shape, and the Building Team considered using a method developed by Lord Raleigh in the 1920s—soak the slabs in hot water and bend them back under pressure—but the National Park Service nixed the idea. Instead, to at least stabilize the slabs, the team installed a fin-tube heating system, dehumidifiers, and air-conditioning to control the humidity that was deemed to be the likely cause of the distortion problem.
Detailed research into the marble decoration revealed that the monument had three levels of coloration: tinting (to allow the veining to show through); marbleizing (where veining is augmented or added); and ornamentation (where both tinting and marbleizing are used along with non-opaque colors).
Balancing their research findings, the demands of historical accuracy, and aesthetic interpretation, the team developed a palette of eight colors to restore the original polychromatic interior marbles to their original brilliance. Careful attention was paid to sealing the finishes.
Fourteen Tiffany-style stained-glass windows—two above the entry doors depicting sunrise and sunset, the other 12 portraying military regalia and imagery—were found to be bulging or missing glass. Team members traveled to Chicago to find perfect matches for the missing glass, and the windows were disassembled, repaired, cleaned, and reinstalled.
To enhance the visitor experience, new fluorescent, track, and LED lighting was carefully balanced to enhance the freshly tinted and re-inked lettering of the marble tablets and highlight various accent items.
The final touch had to do with a bronze relief of President Lincoln. Photographic research showed that, as late as 1932, Lincoln was holding the shackles of a freed slave in his right hand, but the shackles had gone missing for more than 40 years. The Building Team restored the shackles in time for the grand reopening last June.
“The research was the most difficult part,” said jurist Tom Brooks, VP, Restoration Division, Berglund Construction, Chicago. Added judge Darlene Ebel, Director, Facilities Information Management, University of Illinois at Chicago, “Restraint was used. It takes a lot of judgment to decide what level of restoration to do. What they did was absolutely right.”
“This is an inspiring project,” said George Karl Tuhowski, III, LEED AP, general superintendent, Leopardo Construction, Hoffman Estates, Ill. “No stone was left unturned.” BD+C
PROJECT SUMMARY
Building Team
Submitting firm: Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Monument Support Group
Owner: Cuyahoga County Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Monument Commission
Architect/Interior design/MEP engineer/Historic specialist: Westlake Reed Leskosky with Peter van Dijk, FAIA
GC: EnviroCom Construction, Inc.
General Information
Size: 1,600 gsf with 125-foot column and statue
Construction cost: $2.0 million
Construction period: May 2009 to May 2010
Delivery method: Design-bid-build
Related Stories
Museums | Aug 11, 2010
Design guidelines for museums, archives, and art storage facilities
This column diagnoses the three most common moisture challenges with museums, archives, and art storage facilities and provides design guidance on how to avoid them.
| Aug 11, 2010
Broadway-style theater headed to Kentucky
One of Kentucky's largest performing arts venues should open in 2011—that's when construction is expected to wrap up on Eastern Kentucky University's Business & Technology Center for Performing Arts. The 93,000-sf Broadway-caliber theater will seat 2,000 audience members and have a 60×24-foot stage proscenium and a fly loft.
| Aug 11, 2010
Citizenship building in Texas targets LEED Silver
The Department of Homeland Security's new U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services facility in Irving, Texas, was designed by 4240 Architecture and developed by JDL Castle Corporation. The focal point of the two-story, 56,000-sf building is the double-height, glass-walled Ceremony Room where new citizens take the oath.
| Aug 11, 2010
Carpenters' union helping build its own headquarters
The New England Regional Council of Carpenters headquarters in Dorchester, Mass., is taking shape within a 1940s industrial building. The Building Team of ADD Inc., RDK Engineers, Suffolk Construction, and the carpenters' Joint Apprenticeship Training Committee, is giving the old facility a modern makeover by converting the existing two-story structure into a three-story, 75,000-sf, LEED-certif...
| Aug 11, 2010
Utah research facility reflects Native American architecture
A $130 million research facility is being built at University of Utah's Salt Lake City campus. The James L. Sorenson Molecular Biotechnology Building—a USTAR Innovation Center—is being designed by the Atlanta office of Lord Aeck & Sargent, in association with Salt-Lake City-based Architectural Nexus.
| Aug 11, 2010
San Bernardino health center doubles in size
Temecula, Calif.-based EDGE was awarded the contract for California State University San Bernardino's health center renovation and expansion. The two-phase, $4 million project was designed by RSK Associates, San Francisco, and includes an 11,000-sf, tilt-up concrete expansion—which doubles the size of the facility—and site and infrastructure work.
| Aug 11, 2010
Goettsch Partners wins design competition for Soochow Securities HQ in China
Chicago-based Goettsch Partners has been selected to design the Soochow Securities Headquarters, the new office and stock exchange building for Soochow Securities Co. Ltd. The 21-story, 441,300-sf project includes 344,400 sf of office space, an 86,100-sf stock exchange, classrooms, and underground parking.
| Aug 11, 2010
New hospital expands Idaho healthcare options
Ascension Group Architects, Arlington, Texas, is designing a $150 million replacement hospital for Portneuf Medical Center in Pocatello, Idaho. An existing facility will be renovated as part of the project. The new six-story, 320-000-sf complex will house 187 beds, along with an intensive care unit, a cardiovascular care unit, pediatrics, psychiatry, surgical suites, rehabilitation clinic, and ...
| Aug 11, 2010
Colonnade fixes setback problem in Brooklyn condo project
The New York firm Scarano Architects was brought in by the developers of Olive Park condominiums in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn to bring the facility up to code after frame out was completed. The architects designed colonnades along the building's perimeter to create the 15-foot setback required by the New York City Planning Commission.