Cleveland's grand Civil War monument restored

Cleveland’s 116-year-old Soldiers and Sailors Monument, a worn, dirty and decaying place for decades, has emerged from a two-year, $2 million makeover with its rose and ivory columns restored, stained glass windows repaired and harsh fluorescent lighting replaced. The names of the more than 9,000 Cuyahoga County veterans inscribed on 38 marble tablets are once again legible.

The monument, which rises 125 feet above a public square, is topped by a stone column holding the Goddess of Freedom. It was rededicated during the past weekend.

In a Preservation magazine story, writer Arnold Berke pays tribute to engineer and monument designer Levi T. Scofield who had served with the 103rd Ohio Voluntary Infantry.

The restoration project included a re-creation of the original flower beds designed to depict 24 U.S. Army Corps badges and those of five post-Civil War organizations. Monument workers and volunteers got the 17,000 plants arranged in time for the ceremony on Saturday.

The monument is open Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is free.