Article published April 25, 2009
U.S. stimulus has $7.6M for Perry's repair
$16M more needed for work on S. Bass Island monument
FROM BLADE STAFF AND NEWS REPORTS
PUT-IN-BAY, Ohio - One of Lake Erie's most recognizable monuments is getting much-needed repairs, three years after a 500-pound piece of granite fell 300 feet from the observation deck.
Perry's Victory and International Peace Memorial on South Bass Island is slated for about $7.6 million in federal stimulus money, marking the start of the first major restoration of the cracked and waterstained 94-year-old monument.
"The elements out here on Lake Erie are harsh," park Superintendent Blanca Alvarez Stransky said.
The 352-foot-tall monument closed to the public in June, 2006, after an estimated 500-pound piece of granite broke off the top and shattered upon impact. No one was hurt, and the monument was closed for two months until a security fence was installed.
U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D., Toledo) formerly requested repair money last year as a federal budget proposal.
The stimulus money is just a fraction of the money required for the 352-foot structure, which needs about $16 million more in repairs - including fixing a 2-foot-wide hole in the plaza created by the falling piece of granite, Ms. Alvarez Stransky said.But the stimulus money is a great start, Ms. Alvarez Stransky said. The money also will be used to make safety repairs to the monument's 1930s-era elevator. That work is to begin in August. Repairs to the observation deck, including waterproofing, will begin next spring.
The Doric column commemorates the Battle of Lake Erie, an 1813 American victory over the British during the War of 1812, and celebrates the lasting peace among Great Britain, Canada, and the United States.
The naval victory allowed for the eventual disarmament of the border and the Great Lakes. Six officers slain during the battle are buried under its rotunda.
The monument opened to the public June 13, 1915, and became a National Park Service memorial in 1936. It attracts about 150,000 visitors a year and is the tallest monument with an open-air observation deck in the United States.
From 1980 to 1982 it was closed for major renovation. A visitor's center opened near the base of the monument in 2002.
About $750 million in stimulus money will go to restore and repair national parks nationwide, including the Perry monument and two other national parks in Ohio, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said Wednesday.
About $7.8 million will be used for projects at Cuyahoga Valley National Park, including removal of four abandoned gas and oil wells and upgrades to nine miles of railroad track used by a scenic rail line. The funding helps cut into $43 million in deferred maintenance at the park, Superintendent John Debo said.
In southern Ohio, the Hopewell Culture National Historical Park near Chillicothe will get $2 million for a new collection storage facility to house 150,000 prehistoric pottery and other artifacts.
Most of the artifacts are now in a storage basement, said Rick Perkins, acting superintendent and chief ranger. The park, which attracts about 40,000 visitors annually, protects earthworks and other remnants of an ancient Native American culture that flourished in the Ohio River Valley about 2,000 years ago.
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