Restoration of William McKinley monument completed

Scaffolding came down last week, revealing the restored monument to William McKinley, 25th U.S. President. City staff confirmed that the project is complete. Important parts of the restoration were strengthening the monument to withstand earthquakes, and repointing with mortar the many pieces of granite that comprise the pedestal and the steps at the base.

Complete restoration of William McKinley monument is underway

The Panhandle's largest public artwork is under restoration after years of deferred maintenance and suffering from exposure to the natural elements and occasional vandalism.

Stains on the marble and on the granite visible in this photo from 2011

The restoration includes cleaning stains from the inset white marble on which the face of William McKinley, the 25th President of the United States, is carved. The tall bronze figure of a standing woman will also be resurfaced. The mortar between the granite pieces of the base will be replaced, a process called "repointing." New rods will be inserted to seismically strengthen the structure.

According to project manager Jennifer Correia, the work will be done by ARG Conservation Services at the cost of $300,000, from San Francisco's general fund allocation for capital improvements to the Civic Art Collection. A fence and scaffolding went up around the monument in late June and the work will continue through August.

January workday pictures

Rain was in the forecast yesterday, and so many of us showed up for the community workday in our rubber boots. The rain held off until the afternoon, but the boots were perfect for working in the damp and muddy Panhandle park. A big group of volunteers set to work with the park's gardener, Guillermo. 

Our main task yesterday involved raking up leaves in the area Lyon and Central next to the south path. Many of these were big elm trees, and we also worked through the grove of pittosporum.

Leaving a pile of leaves around the base of the tree creates a nice blanket to protect roots and also suppresses weeds. The leaves of most trees (eucalyptus excepted) will decompose pretty quickly. Each year we've been able to assist the other park workers in bringing this improvement to more parts of the park.   

Another group of volunteers trimmed back burl growth from the redwoods at Baker Street. 

Meanwhile, graffiti was removed from the McKinley Memorial by city workers on Friday. 

North Panhandle News features history of the Panhandle park

The North Panhandle News, distributed to about 3,500 households in the boundaries of Turk, Divisadero, Masonic, and Fell Street, has a brief history of the Panhandle in its September/October issue. The article is written by Sean Sullivan, who is organizing the public safety event for the Panhandle Park Action Project. The newsletter was just printed, and I delivered newsletters along my route yesterday. If you live outside the boundaries, or if you haven't received a copy of the newsletter, you can also check the newsletter online. 

This issue also has an update on the Arts Commission plans to build a fence around the McKinley Statue. Neighborhood groups have reluctantly come around to supporting the plan to protect the piece from vandalism, and the Commission's agenda for this past Monday, September 9 included a motion for approval of an octagonal iron fence.

McKinley gets scrubbed

The McKinley Monument had graffiti removal and a high-pressure wash on Wednesday this past week. Thank you SF Arts Commission for the more frequent attention to this sculpture (the last work was just four months ago).

McKinley graffiti removed; also curb ramp underway at Lyon St

After being hit with several waves of graffiti, and after many calls and 311 reports from annoyed members of the community, the McKinley Memorial was finally cleaned up on Wednesday. This 1904 artwork by Robert Ingersoll Aitken is among artworks listed by the San Francisco Arts Commission as most in need of immediate attention & restoration.

Nearby, Precision Engineering company has work underway at Lyon Street to build a curb ramp connecting the park to the crosswalk across Fell. That was one of the last intersections around the Panhandle Park without an accessible curb ramp.

New graffiti on the McKinley Monument

Call or tweet to SF 311 if you're tired of graffiti on the McKinley Monument. New tags by IAMOGB appeared this weekend on all four sides. My previous reports of tags have not been addressed, so maybe they want to hear from more people. 

Creative ideas are needed to protect and improve the McKinley Monument

A few weeks ago, the AIDS Walk brought thousands of people to Golden Gate Park. By midday, thousands of people were on the hunt for a place to sit for a rest or to have a bite to eat. One convenient place is to settle down next to, or on, a statue or monument.

Picnicking in Golden Gate Park

In the Panhandle, the McKinley Monument is put to similar use on a daily basis. It's actually put to use in a lots of other ways- toddlers learning to climb, little kids kicking a ball with parents, neighbors meeting up with friends for a bike ride, reading a book, or getting some sun.  

But the monument is in disrepair. In June, when I saw a team of restoration experts hired by the city to remove graffiti, I asked about the job in front of them, and they said their current job would only be to remove some graffiti and apply a sealant. They pointed out the signs that water from rainfall is getting into the base upon which the bronze statue rests. They also pointed out how the gaps between the stones steps leading up to the monument are open and filled with weeds. I had already noticed that the bas-relief of McKinley was discolored from corrosion. But there is not a plan to fund maintenance or restoration of all of public artworks in San Francisco, and it appears that that the McKinley is lacking a benefactor. In the San Francisco Chronicle on July 16, 2011, a front page article by Stephanie Lee reported on the restoration of a large, 40-year old outdoor sculpture at the Hall of Justice that had just concluded at the cost of $35,000. The article reported that other artworks around San Francisco were in need of funding plan (public or private) "Robert Ingersoll Aitken's 1904 William McKinley statue in Golden Gate Park needs a heavy coat of protection over its bronze and stone that could cost as much as $165,000."

McKinley waiting for more than graffiti removal

Beyond repairing and restoring the monument itself, Alison Cumming of the SF Arts Commission told a committee in January about chronic, recurring vandalism of the monument, and said that her office would like to work with the Recreation and Parks department "to address solutions, including possible replanting of the area, up-lighting, and period-appropriate fencing" at the McKinley Monument.

Allow me a few comments on these possible changes:

1. Replanting of the area could really help. Right now, there is just weedy grass, and it's in poor shape, worsening in the dry season. This group has made efforts to remove debris and spread some healthy soil to allow new grass to sprout, but it would be so much better to have some nice plants. Throughout the east end of Golden Gate Park, statues and monuments typically have some decorative plantings (like the picture at top).

2. Uplighting the monument, if done in a comprehensive way, would be responsive to the concerns I have heard from neighbors about the darkness of the east end of the park. These neighbors have noted that the eastern end was underserved by the lighting that was installed throughout the rest of the park several years ago, and believe that the poor lighting contributes to more criminal activity, vandalism, and drinking/drugging. They are also concerned that along dark pathways, there's a greater risk of injuries due to bike-bike or bike-ped collisions. I would hope that lighting would not be limited to lights shining only onto the monument itself, but would be accompanied by lighting along the eastern perimeter of the park and at the beginnings of the north and south pathways.

3. Fencing the monument would be a big change, but there are ways to mitigate the negative impacts. It would be a loss to eliminate the positive, harmless ways people play on or around the monument, but a barrier may be necessary, given the ongoing problem with vandalism, and with other lesser ways that people degrade the area (for example, by using it as a place to smoke or drink, or to set up a charcoal grill). I don't expect everyone will agree that those problems merit a fence, but I believe they are all degrading to the monument and that they all result in excluding others from the area, thus denying access to most for the pleasures of a few. But, there are some drawbacks to a fence, such as taking away the monument's steps as a place to sit. The lack of seating is another comment I've heard from neighbors. So, if a fence is built, it's going to be extremely important to add some kind of seating in the immediate area.

Despite some major controversies in the past about public artworks, San Francisco is in a phase of experimentation in its public spaces, and some of those experiments are beginning to literally touch its public sculptures. The Pioneer Monument - a huge piece that had to be relocated and eventually found a home in the middle of Fulton Street across from the main library - was fenced in years ago. Now, in addition to the fence, there's a bed of soil and mulch home to dozens of plants, bordered by a meandering wattle to keep the soil in place. It's all encircled by a low, stone seating wall that gives people a place to rest and watch life (and traffic) go by. If ideas like this can be implemented down in the Civic Center, then I think we can come up with even more creative ideas to protect and improve the artwork in our neighborhood park.

Saturday workday reminder; McKinley Monument clean-up happening today

Our next Panhandle workday is coming up quickly - this Saturday, June 11. Rec and Park staff are organizing a bunch of projects and need the extra energy and enthusiasm of community volunteers to get them done. Besides spreading some fines and much, we might even get to put a few more new plants in the ground. Come out to join us at 9 am. Late arrivals are also welcome.

recent writing on the Monument

There's also big news at the park this afternoon! Work at the McKinley Monument is getting underway this afternoon and continues tomorrow morning. A team of four workers are out with brushes and solvents to tackle  graffiti, and then re-apply a protective sealant over the stone. The workers were sent by the San Francisco Arts Commission, which is responsible for upkeep of the Monument. Besides the graffiti problem, the Monument also needs other maintenance, which one of the workers pointed out to me, such as the open joints between the stones that are letting water penetrate into the structure. Those problems aren't being addressed this week, but they're on the SFAC's radar and plans are under development. Thanks to the SFAC and everyone who wrote or called SF 311 to report the problems at the Monument (which was last cleaned by the SFAC a little over a year ago).

Map fun: Site of Panhandle Bandshell

While playing around with Google Maps and creating a Panhandle Park/Neighborhood map to post here, I noticed that the current satellite images capture the construction (or perhaps dismantling?) of the Panhandle Bandshell. That was 2007! Wonder when we get new pics of SF?

flickr photo from affinity1

The bandshell still exists and lives up north at Fort Mason these days. I wonder if we could get it back to the park for the summer?

McKinley Memorial cleaned today

The Panhandle's primary artwork- a massive bronze statue on a stone pedestal dedicated in 1904 in commemoration of an assassinated U.S. President - was cleaned today of graffiti. Pictured here, a worker hired by the San Francisco Arts Commission has removed the worst tag, a big, black mark painted recently just below the engraving of the presidents name. But he still had several tags to go, such as the one visible on the top step. Our tax dollars at work.