The university’s Office of Architecture and the May 4 Memorial Center are working on restoring the May 4 Memorial after August storms damaged parts of its structure and plant life.

Jay Graham, executive director of Facilities Planning and Design and university architect, said he intends for the restoration plan for the May 4 Memorial to be done by May 4, 2024. The current cost estimate for the panel replacement as well as cleaning up the memorial’s wall is approximately $100,000.

This restoration plan entails replacing the damaged carnelian granite panels a part of the memorial by contacting Coldspring, a granite and bronze memorial design and fabrication company, Graham said.

“We’ve been told by [Coldspring] that they are at least six if not eight months from an approval of a submittal, which means there’s a lot of documentation on the fund,” Graham said.

A submittal involves Coldspring to provide the university with a drawing of what granite they plan on cutting, Graham said.

As a result of the storm, 17 of the 137 panels were damaged, and Graham and others have discussed how to identify these new panels as a part of the preexisting memorial, he said.

“We had some conversation, whether we would want to inscribe or even etch a small note on the side of the panel,” Graham said. “[The inscription or note] could help a visitor understand that these were some of the panels that were damaged during [the August storms].”

Grahm said the granite panels, which will be used to replace the damaged panels, are not exact as there are differences between the two.

“You can see in the samples, there’s more white quartz and the composition than the original,” Graham said. “I’m trying to make sure that everyone we’ve been talking with understands it’s going to stand out; it will look a little different.”

With the differences, Graham said he hopes the panels will convey to visitors the story as to how the damage and restorations occurred.

There may be updates as to how masonry anchors connect the granites installed with the concrete in the memorial, Graham said.

“We may look at how [masonry anchors] are attached and make some updates there,” Graham said. “By in large, we really want to restore it back to its original design intent.”

Additionally, the memorial’s trees also suffered damage from the storm resulting in some of them being torn down, Graham said.

Graham said he is working with the university’s grounds crew and Office of Landscape Architect to organize a plan to plant younger succession trees.

“We don’t want to see a time in maybe the next 20, 30 years where some of these trees all reach the end of their lives,” Graham said. “We have more storm damage and all of the sudden this hillside is completely missing all of its tree stands.”

Alison Caplan, director of the May 4 Memorial Visit Center, said the walking tour and its panels will undergo an upgrade by creating another path for walking tour attendees to go off to the side.

“We wanted to create a space where people can step off to the side and really enjoy and read,” Caplan said. “There’s going to be more space around them for tour groups and people who come through to appreciate them.”

In addition to working with Coldspring to restore the memorial, Graham said he reached out to Bruno Ast, the designer and architect of the memorial.

“We’ve corresponded a couple times, he is willingly to package up his project files and turn them over to the university,” Graham said. 

The university’s library’s archives have also been a key part to helping Ast’s file transfer, Graham said.

“He’s willing to transfer his documents and records to us that will help us understand exactly his design intent and all the details of some of those materials, so when we reassemble it we can make sure we’re meeting his intent,” Graham said.

Caplan said she views the restoration as a positive because they were able to establish a relationship with Ast.

“The possibility that he’s going to donate papers related to his development and design of the memorial,” Caplan said. “[It] will allow us to further understand… encourage new scholarship around memorials and this one in particular.”

Adriana Gasiewski is a staff reporter. Contact her at [email protected].