George Washington finds a new home…temporarily
The 178-foot high Washington Monument located in Mount Vernon Square is set to undergo a $5 million dollar renovation headed by the Mount Vernon Place Conservancy. The original construction of the monument was started in 1815 and completed in 1829, when the statue of Washington was placed on top.
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- The bust of President George Washington waits to be moved from the museum at the base of the Washington Monument while the monument is renovated. (Lloyd Fox/Baltimore Sun)
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- The 1,000-pound bust of President George Washington is being moved from the museum at the base of the Washington Monument while the monument is renovated. The bust will be moved to the Walters Art Museum Sculpture Court, where it will be on loan until the renovations are completed. (Lloyd Fox/Baltimore Sun)
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- L-R Chai Longnecker and Lap Tran of Bonsai Fine Arts, Inc. work on getting the The 1,000-pound bust of President George Washington free from its resting place in the monument. (Lloyd Fox/Baltimore Sun)
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- Chai Longnecker of Bonsai Fine Arts, Inc. helps get the sculpture of George Washington out of the Washington Monument. (Lloyd Fox/Baltimore Sun)
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- The 1,000-pound bust of President George Washington is moved from the museum at the base of the Washington Monument while the monument is renovated. (Lloyd Fox/Baltimore Sun)
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- L-R Chai Longnecker, Joe Hoffman and Anthony Tran of Bonsai Fine Arts, Inc help move The 1,000-pound bust of President George Washington. (Lloyd Fox/Baltimore Sun)
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- The 1,000-pound bust of President George Washington is lifted by workers from Bonsai Fine Arts out of its resting place in the Washington Monument onto a crate. (Lloyd Fox/Baltimore Sun)
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- Workers carefully move the bust of George Washington from the museum at the base of the Washington Monument while the monument is renovated. (Lloyd Fox/Baltimore Sun)
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- The bust of Washington is placed in a custom made box to safely ship the piece to the Walters Art Museum just down the street from the monument. (Lloyd Fox/Baltimore Sun)
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- The bust is placed in a custom made box to safely ship the piece to the Walters Art Museum just down the street from the monument. (Lloyd Fox/Baltimore Sun)
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- The bust is placed in a custom made box to safely ship the piece to the Walters Art Museum just down the street from the monument. (Lloyd Fox/Baltimore Sun)
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- The bust is placed in a custom made box to safely ship the piece to the Walters Art Museum just down the street from the monument. (Lloyd Fox/Baltimore Sun)
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- The crate carrying the large bust of President George Washington is moved from the museum at the base of the Washington Monument to the Walters Art Museum Sculpture Court, where it will be on loan until the renovations at the Washington Monument are completed. (Lloyd Fox/Baltimore Sun)The crate carrying the large bust of President George Washington is moved from the museum at the base of the Washington Monument to the Walters Art Museum Sculpture Court, where it will be on loan until the renovations at the Washington Monument are completed. (Lloyd Fox/Baltimore Sun)
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- L-R Scott Pittman, Joe Hoffman and Anthony Tran of Bonsai Fine Arts, Inc move the crate carrying the bust of President George Washington. (Lloyd Fox/Baltimore Sun)
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- Anthony Tran, right, of Bonsai Fine Arts, Inc. looks at the sculpture after the bust of President George Washington was moved to the Walters Art Museum Sculpture Court, where it will be on display until the renovations are completed at the Washington Monument. (Lloyd Fox/Baltimore Sun)
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- Hands secure the bust as it is taken out of the crate at the Walters Art Museum. (Lloyd Fox/Baltimore Sun)
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- The bust of President George Washington is moved from the museum at the base of the Washington Monument while the monument is renovated. (Lloyd Fox/Baltimore Sun)
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- The 1,000-pound bust of President George Washington after it was moved to the Walters Art Museum Sculpture Court, where it will be on loan until the renovations are completed at the Washington Monument. (Lloyd Fox/Sun Photographer)
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- The bust of Washington is lifted onto a pedestal at the Walters Art Museum after being moved from the museum at the base of the Washington Monument. (Lloyd Fox/Baltimore Sun)
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- Workers surround the bust of President George Washington after is was moved to the Walters Art Museum Sculpture Court, where it will be on loan until the renovations are completed at the Washington Monument. (Lloyd Fox/Baltimore Sun)
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- The bust of President George Washington resides in Walters Art Museum Sculpture Court, where it will be on loan until the renovations are completed at the Washington Monument. (Lloyd Fox/Baltimore Sun)
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- The bust of President George Washington resides in Walters Art Museum Sculpture Court, where it will be on loan until the renovations are completed at the Washington Monument. (Lloyd Fox/Baltimore Sun)
One of the very special artifacts located in a museum in the base of the monument is a one thousand pound marble bust of the first president. The Board of Managers of the Washington Monument in 1834 purchased what they called a “Colossal Bust” for $50, which was copied after the original by Italian sculpture Giuseppe Ceracchi. The sculpture has been in the monument ever since.
The bust was carefully taken out of the monument by Bonsai Fine Arts, Inc. and transported to the Walters Art Museum where it will be on loan for the next 13-16 months during the renovations to the monument. The Mount Vernon Place Conservancy plans to bring the sculpture back after completion of renovations on the Washington Monument and it reopens on July 4, 2014 for it’s Bicentennial.
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