Do you want to move a statue? Monaghan stands another year as Spokane searches for affordable mover

It has been nearly two years since the Spokane City Council created a path to removing the controversial statue of Ensign John Monaghan from downtown Spokane, but the city continues to encounter roadblocks.

Primarily: Who do you call to move a 120-year-old statue without breaking the bank or the statue itself?

Monaghan was a U.S. Navy ensign killed in 1899 near Apia, Samoa, during a war between colonizing and native factions over control of territory on the islands. Residents commissioned the uniformed statue of Monaghan, which the city does not own but is located on city property, in 1906.

One plaque on the statue describes the Samoans who killed Monaghan as a “savage foe,” while another depicts those Samoans as wielding primitive weapons, which activists have called historically inaccurate and racist. The Spokane Council of the Navy League of the United States has previously argued that aspects of the memorial should be updated, but the statue should remain because Monaghan acted heroically to protect a fellow sailor in battle.

There have been perennial debates about whether to remove the Monaghan statue since 2017, coinciding with the white supremacist Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, protesting the removal of Confederate memorials, which had the unintended effect of redoubling negative attention on potentially offensive statues. But official complaints calling the language of the plaque racist date back at least to March 2000, when local resident and artist Mark Lanterman called for its removal.

In Jan. 2024, the Spokane City Council created a process for the city to review and potentially remove offensive landmarks and street names. A year later, members of the Monaghan family reportedly gave their blessing to relocate the statue to the Monaghan family mausoleum in Fairmount Memorial Park. Staff initially estimated the relocation would happen by the end of the year.

But with 2025 coming to a close, the statue still stands where it has for more than a century.

The city roughly estimated relocation would cost $30,000-50,000 and has twice requested bids from contractors. The first time, there were no bids. The second time there was only one – for over $100,000.

“We felt that was not going to work,” said Marlene Feist, director of public works for the city. “We are responsible for safeguarding public dollars.”

The city is not unfamiliar with paying to have a statue installed, but usually as a small part of a larger, multimillion dollar infrastructure project, Feist said. Not many of those contractors show interest in a project measured in tens of thousands of dollars – too few zeroes.

“It’s also one thing to install a brand new piece,” Feist added. “When we procure public art, we make sure it meets engineering standards, and so we know how to move it. We don’t even know how much (the Monaghan statue) weighs, what’s in the base – what is a 100-plus-year-old statue valued at? What do we insure it for?”

Rather than go out for bids a third time, the city is trying to get creative, Feist said. Staff are currently reaching out to companies that specialize in relocating historic buildings to see if they might be more interested.

If efforts continue to be stymied, “Then we’re going to have to think about our strategy,” Feist said.

The city already plans to work on the roadway where Monaghan is located, modifying the right turn off Monroe Street onto Riverside Avenue. The statue is located on a concrete island next to that turn where the work will take place.

“We were hoping to have it moved away so we have a clean slate for the roadwork,” Feist said. “But we could bid it all together.”