Spokane finds contractor to move Monaghan statue before June 30

After standing in downtown Spokane for 120 years, the statue of Ensign John Monaghan will be moved within the next two months, as city officials have finally found a contractor willing to tackle the task.

The city will pay $88,000 to Spokane Valley moving company Breithaupt & Sons to transfer the statue closer to the Monaghan family mausoleum in Fairmount Memorial Park sometime before June 30, though an exact timeline remains to be determined.

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

There have been 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 January 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 2025.

Staff underestimated both how much relocation would cost and how difficult it would be to find a contractor interested in moving a statue of this age. The city roughly estimated relocation would cost $30,000-$50,000 and twice requested bids from contractors; the first round received no bids, and the second received only one $100,000 bid.

Spokane Historic Preservation Officer Megan Duvall had been the primary contact between the city and the Monaghan family – by the end, Duvall said she was in contact with nearly a dozen extended relatives. She mused Monday that Breithaupt & Sons had been hired for an unrelated job when she asked if they had interest in moving the statue.

Public Works Director Marlene Feist warned council members Monday that several questions remain, such as what will become of the plaques and how well the statue will hold up during transit.

“Remember, this is a 100-plus-year-old statue,” Feist said. “We don’t know if something will fall apart in the move.”

She noted the contractor was insured – for $200,000, according to council documents – but the statue itself was not, as the statue doesn’t really have an owner to receive an insurance payout.