COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – This Saturday, June 19, the bronze equestrian statue of General William Jackson Palmer at the intersection of Nevada and Platte avenues will receive routine conservation work by Pacific Coast Conservation, under the supervision of Colorado Springs Pioneers Museum (CSPM) staff. From 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., the intersection of Nevada and Platte avenues will have the left lanes closed in all directions in order to grant the conservators 360-degree access to the statue.
Since 2001, the CSPM has been responsible for the management and preservation of the City of Colorado Springs’ permanent art collection, which includes more than 100 pieces.
“On a routine basis, public art needs to receive care and maintenance to address ongoing environmental impacts and material degradation,” said Leah Davis Witherow, CSPM curator of history. “As we commemorate the city’s Sesquicentennial, or 150th anniversary, in 2021, it is particularly appropriate to highlight this important preservation work and demonstrate the museum’s dedication to maintaining the city’s collection for the next 150 years.”
The Palmer statue was funded by private citizens in 1929. It was created by Nathan Dumont Potter of Enfield, Mass., and forged by the Gorham Company foundry of Providence, R.I.