Marion Square, Charleston, South Carolina

The John C. Calhoun monument that stands in Marion Square in Charleston, South Carolina, was erected to honor one of South Carolina’s most illustrious citizens — the former vice-president, senator and secretary of war, John Calhoun.

The 115-foot-tall monument, which depicts Calhoun looking out over the city with a cloak slung over his shoulder and a scroll in his hand, was completed in 1896.

During the one hundred years that followed the monument’s construction the bronze components of the sculpture suffered from exposure to active corrosion factors, resulting in the pale green appearance of the bronze and streaking and pitting of the sculpture’s surface. A condition assessment revealed that several bronze pins were loose or missing from the relief plaques, and that a bronze letter “O” had been lost from the granite plaque. The granite portions of the monument suffered from biological growth, general soiling, and spalling.

Conservation Solutions, Inc. (CSI) was awarded the contract to clean, repair, and repoint the granite portions of the monument, and to recast, repatinate, and coat its bronze elements.

Work on the extremely tall monument was facilitated by the erection of scaffolding that allowed access to all areas of the monument. The stone was then cleaned of biological growth and atmospheric pollution using an anti-microbial solution and highly controlled micro-abrasive cleaning. Stone repairs, crack injections, and all pointing on the monument were performed using Jahn restoration mortars and grouts.

Missing bronze elements, including the absent letter “O”, were modeled and recast using an alloy similar to the original, and then patinated to match the other bronze components of the monument. Loose corrosion products were removed from the sculpture, plaques, and bronze sculpted palmetto trees using water jets at low-to-medium pressure. These elements were then repatinated and coated with a lacquer formulated for exterior use on copper and copper alloys.

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More information about the restoration of the John C. Calhoun Monument can be found at the Charleston County Public Library website.