State scrambles to secure Rhode Island’s Independent Man statue atop State House in advance of Hurricane Lee A drone video revealed a gap in the marble base that supports the 11-foot-tall, 500-pound statue, which will have to be taken down from atop the State House for repairs
RI POLITICS
State scrambles to secure Rhode Island’s Independent Man statue atop State House in advance of Hurricane Lee
A drone video revealed a gap in the marble base that
supports the 11-foot-tall, 500-pound statue, which will have to be taken
down from atop the State House for repairs
By Edward Fitzpatrick Globe Staff,Updated September 15, 2023, 30 minutes ago
The pedestal that holds up Rhode Island's Independent Man statue has split
The
Independent Man and the cupola atop the Rhode Island State House dome
will undergo an important, historic repair and preservation effort.
PROVIDENCE
— For the first time since 1975 and only the second time in history,
the Independent Man statue will come down from atop the Rhode Island
State House, state officials announced Friday.
Earlier
this week, a drone scanning the State House dome as part of a façade
cleaning project spotted a gap in the base beneath the 11-foot-tall,
500-pound golf-leaf statue.
With Hurricane Lee
approaching the area, state officials are scrambling to secure the
statue before the strong winds arrive. A massive crane stood outside the
State House on Friday, and work crews were planning to secure the
statue and its base.
During
a news conference across the street from the State House, Governor
Daniel J. McKee said he is grateful that the drone video revealed the
separation in the base beneath the statue.
“This
allowed us to act quickly to safeguard this important piece of Rhode
Island history and address any damage to the statue’s marble base before
it could become a safety issue,” he said. “The Independent Man is an
iconic symbol of our state and a source of pride for all Rhode
Islanders, reminding us of the spirit of independence that our state was
founded on.”
After
the initial work to secure the statue is complete, and the full plan
for the restoration and preservation is finalized, the Independent Man
will be temporarily removed from atop the State House dome,
administration officials said. The administration will be developing
options to display the statute for the general public to enjoy before it
is reunited to its base atop the State House.
“The
Independent Man has weathered decades of storms and blizzards and
hurricanes, and now he will be restored to pristine condition to be
enjoyed for generations to come and for people across the nation and the
world to come and see,” McKee said.
McKee
said the drone detected the separation in the marble base beneath the
statue as crews were preparing to clean the dome and the area
surrounding the Independent Man.
Drone video recently
revealed a large separation in the marble base beneath the bronze
Independent Man statue atop the Rhode Island State House. RI Department of Administration
He
noted that he asked the General Assembly to fund the cleaning of the
entire Georgian marble surface of the 125-year-old State House. The
$2.24 million cleaning project is being funded by the Rhode Island
Capital funded Asset Protection Program.
The
bronze statue, originally named “Hope,” was designed by George
Brewster, cast by the Gorham Manufacturing Company of Providence, and
installed in 1899. It has come down from the dome just once, in 1975,
for repairs and a new coat of gold leaf.
Jonathan
Womer, director of the Department of Administration, said a drone flew
over the State House and grounds on Tuesday to assess how the cleaning
project was progressing.
“It
became very apparent that there was some serious damage to the cupola —
the dome that the Independent Man is sitting on,” he said. “A very
large separation between two of the segments. We realized this was very,
very troubling, especially with the possibility of inclement weather
coming our way.”
Womer
said the last time the Independent Man came down, the restoration
process lasted about a year. “I’d expect something very similar this
time around,” he said.
A Red-tailed Hawk in
pursuit of prey next to the "Independent Man" statue on the top of the
Rhode Island State House dome in Providence.David L. Ryan/Globe Staff
Marco
Schiappa, director of the Division of Capital Asset Management and
Maintenance, said the crane was lifting workers in a basket on Friday so
they can strap the statue around the cupola and secure it. The crews
will also strap down “loose stones that are up there right now that are
dislodged to prevent them from moving any further,” he said. “It’s a
temporary action just to ensure things are safe.”
Schiappa said officials believe that the repairs needed on the cupola will require the statue to come down from the building.
Womer
said he did not know how much work will cost yet. “We do have a number
of capital accounts with the State House we can look at,” he said. “In
addition, we are doing an insurance assessment because this really does
seem like it was an event that happened, rather than slow progress.”
Drone
footage from January, when the cleaning project began, showed no damage
at that time, Womer said. “There have been a lot of weather event this
summer,” he said. “Probably one of them contributed to this. Exactly
which we are going to have to assess.”
McKee said it’s not clear yet when the statue will come down or where it would be kept then.
“We
will have a plan,” he said. “We will make sure the people of the state
of Rhode Island are able to see front and center what it looks like and
share in their pride. We will take advantage of an opportunity like this
to kind of share Rhode Island’s history with the people.”
The pedestal that holds up Rhode Island's Independent Man statue has split
The
Independent Man and the cupola atop the Rhode Island State House dome
will undergo an important, historic repair and preservation effort.
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