Routine maintenances of outdoor monuments
Over the course of my summer with CMCP, my cohort and I performed routine maintenances of many memorable monuments throughout NYC, in materials ranging from steel, to bronze, granite, marble, sandstone, concrete, limestone, and more, all varying greatly in scale and style. We learned to differentiate these materials, and became particularly familiar with bronze alloys and the different granites commonly used for monuments in New York, such as Stonycreek’s pink granite (famously chosen for the base of the Statue of Liberty, and Grand Central Terminal).

Scrubbing bronze Union Square Drinking Fountain with diluted Orvus detergent. (Photo: Aidan Thomas)
Rinsing off detergent with pressure washer. (Photo: Aidan Thomas)
Spraying Prosoco Enviro Clean ReVive on the lower figures of Washington Square Arch. (Photo: Aidan Thomas)

Spraying ReVive on the upper parts of Washington Square Arch, from the articulating boom lift. (Photo: Aidan Thomas)
Pressure washing the rosettes on the intrados of Washington Square Arch. (Photo: Magnus Cleveland)

Hot waxing bronze "Freedom of the Human Spirit" in Flushing Meadows Corona Park. (Photo: Madeline Krol)

Due to the limitations of the lift truck's reach, I had to improvise an extension arm to apply hot wax from a distance. (Photo: Madeline Krol)
Scrubbing the Lafayette and Washington monument by Morningside Park. (Photo: Madeline Krol)
Rinsing off Lafayette and Washington with the pressure washer. (Photo: Madeline Krol)
Applying a protective coat of cold wax to the Harriet Tubman Memorial. (Photo: John Saunders)
Removing rust and old paint with an angle grinder on Gretta Moulton Gate in Staten Island. (Photo: Madeline Krol)
Painting the gate with a new protective coat of epoxy paint. (Photo: Madeline Krol)