Lasers brighten Point Park monument in $150,000 preservation face-lift

Allan Tieman of Ponsford, Ltd., uses a laser to remove corrosion from the statue atop the New York Peace Monument at Point Park on Thursday in Lookout Mountain. The statue depicts Union and Confederate soldiers shaking hands.
Allan Tieman of Ponsford, Ltd., uses a laser to remove corrosion from the statue atop the New York Peace Monument at Point Park on Thursday in Lookout Mountain. The statue depicts Union and Confederate soldiers shaking hands.

A 95-foot-tall Civil War monument at Point Park is starting to shine a bit brighter today.

The New York Peace Monument is receiving a $150,000 preservation face-lift. The improvement comes as the Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park commemorates its 125th anniversary later this year.

During the restoration, lasers are used to vaporize corrosion off the entire monument, cleaning details as fine as the initialed belt buckles and hairlines of the soldiers. It's the same technology used in laser surgery, said Gordon Ponsford, senior conservator with Ponsford, Ltd.

Ponsford plans to use conservation wax on the statue after cleaning it to slow further corrosion.

"We're going to get some longevity out of this restoration," he said.

photo Gordon Ponsford of Ponsford, Ltd., uses a laser device to remove corrosion from the statue atop the New York Peace Monument at Point Park on Aug. 23, 2015, in Lookout Mountain, Tenn.

The laser process is safe for the environment and people and is at the forefront of artifact preservation, he said.

"It's not just the Smithsonian or Silicon Valley that has high technology," Ponsford said.

The work, funded by Point Park entry fees, started in March and is expected to be finished by the end of this month.

High winds and rain caused some delays in the restoration. The monument is at the top of Lookout Mountain, the sculpture sits 95 feet in the air and the cleaning crew isn't able to work when winds reach 15 mph.

When the restoration is complete the corroded green coloring on the Union and Confederate soldiers on top of the monument will shine bronze again. And the monument's granite column base also will be free of corrosion.

The areas directly surrounding the monument are temporarily closed to the public while the crew completes the work.

Tess and Dick Keller of Daphne, Ala., visited the monument this week while touring Lookout Mountain.

"It's about unity," Tess Keller said. "It shows the Union and Confederate soldiers coming together."

The New York Peace Monument, which had not been cleaned in 27 years, towers over all memorials in Point Park. It was built in 1907. The state of New York donated the sculpture, called Reconciliation, that sits atop it.

"Hopefully we're restoring this for future generations to appreciate," Ponsford said.

Contact staff writer Yolanda Putman at yputman@timesfreepress.com or 757-6431.

photo Gordon Ponsford of Ponsford, Ltd., uses a laser device to remove corrosion from the statue atop the New York Peace Monument at Point Park on Aug. 23, 2015, in Lookout Mountain, Tenn.

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