Grant Allows Statues To Get Overdue Checkup

Three of Spokane’s oldest and most recognizable public sculptures will get a checkup this summer, paid for by a grant from the national Save Our Sculpture project.

The Spokane City and County Historic Landmarks Commission will use the $850 grant to hire Patricia Tuttle Leavengood of Seattle to evaluate the condition of the three statues.

The oldest is the statue of Ensign John Robert Monaghan, who died 100 years ago in the Samoan jungle.

His likeness has stood guard outside the Spokane Club at Riverside and Monroe since 1906. Monaghan’s family commissioned Sigvald H. Asbjornsen to create the statue.

Across the street from Monaghan is the Lincoln statue, created by Alonzo Victor Lewis in 1930.

The third sculpture is usually thought of more as transportation than public art: the Monroe Street Bridge pavilions.

The arches, decorated with bison skulls, were designed in 1911 by Spokane architects Kirtland Cutter and Karl Malmgren.

Susan Nichols, director of Save Our Sculpture, said outdoor sculpture is usually created to honor the spirit, individuals or events.

“Today, this collection, an important part of our heritage, is endangered by deferred maintenance, weathering and vandalism,” she said.

Having the sculptures professionally assessed is the first step toward preserving them.

The national group, started in 1990, has evaluated 32,000 public sculptures. More than half needed maintenance or restoration.