LOGAN SQUARE — Despite a few cracks in the column and on the actual Eagle, the Illinois Centennial Monument flying over the middle of Logan Square is in better than expected shape.
The results of last weekend's check-up on the 98-year-old monument determined the Eagle is at about 90 percent health.
"It's in surprisingly good shape," said Barnaby Wauters, a preservation and restoration expert and member of Logan Square Preservation's board.
Wauters was one of a number of structural experts who went up in a hydraulic lift to examine the 70-foot-tall marble column and Eagle over the weekend.
Paul Biasco chats about getting to view the monument up close:
The $6,000 diagnostic test also included a high-tech digital scan of the monument that will also determine if it is leaning.
The exam found a few hairline surface cracks on the column and on the Eagle, which should be easy to repair, according to Wauters.
"Nothing that's of any danger," he said. "Pretty much the Eagle is kind of weather worn."
A crack in the Eagle was determined to be minor. [DNAinfo/Paul Biasco]
Wauters said years of wind has worn the Eagle's surface down, but there is no significant damage.
The surface cracks can be injected with adhesive.
The first several inches of mortar joints around the column also need to be replaced, according to Wauters.
The preservation effort is also considering chemical treatments to solidify the Eagle to prevent further wear from the elements.
"I've dealt with a lot of buildings of that particular era and it's in good shape," Wauters said. "It was built with solid column sections and was laid up very well. Usually with buildings of that era there's a lot more going on."
The two-day examination provided rare views of the city from atop the monument. [Andrew Schneider]
The inspection was part of a greater preservation effort that seeks to restore the monument, including the surrounding area, back to its original state.
Logan Square Preservation has estimated the monument needs about $80,000 in work.
That work includes replacing the granite pavers surrounding the monument with small cobble stones, as was the original design, replacing the lights surrounding the monument with the original globe light designs and adding spotlights to illuminate the column and Eagle at night.
The monument is cared for by the Benjamin Ferguson Monument Fund, who maintains statues and monuments around the city.
Logan Square Preservation hopes to team up with the Ferguson Monument Fund, to obtain aldermanic money as well as private donations to complete the renovations before the 2018 Illinois Bicentennial.
Preservationists hope to return the monument and surrounding elements to its original state. [photos by DNAinfo/Paul Biasco]
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