Three of the more than 1,300 memorials at Gettysburg National Military Park will be given a thorough cleaning and polishing during June, according to the National Park Service.
The work will necessitate closing the upper observation decks and first floor of the battlefield’s much-visited State of Pennsylvania Monument between about June 8 and June 28. The other, smaller monuments — the New York State Monument in the Soldiers’ National Cemetery and the State of Vermont Monument on Hancock Avenue — are scheduled for work between June 4 and June 6.
The building-like, 110-foot-tall Pennsylvania memorial is popular with visitors because it offers a rare opportunity for a panoramic view of the battlefield. It also boasts larger-than-life bronze statues of six of the state’s generals who fought there, as well as one of President Abraham Lincoln and another of Pennsylvania Gov. Andrew Curtin. At the base of the memorial, bronze plaques list the names of the 34,530 soldiers and officers from Pennsylvania who fought at Gettysburg.
The work on the 1910 Pennsylvania memorial will include a walnut-shell blasting and steam cleaning to remove corrosion and grime from the 7,500-pound bronze Goddess of Victory and Peace sculpture atop the building. The goddess, made from melted-down cannons, will then be waxed to protect her from pollution and harsh weather.