Reason #3 To Love Philadelphia: City Hall Restoration

Brad Maule at Philly Skyline recently reported that the scaffolding at City Hall is finally coming down. Not all of it, mind you, but the scaffolding on top, which was protecting sculptures by Alexander Milne Calder. After about three years, though, the restoration work is finally done and the scaffolding is set to unveil the newly-fixed up sculptures of eagles, Swedes and Indians.

Here’s how Philly Skyline describes the restorations:

Well, as one might imagine for sculptures with over a century’s worth of Philadelphia weathering (half of which was infused with the soot and exhaust of Broad Street Station directly across the street), the bronze sculptures were suffering from severe corrosion. CSOS treated each sculpture and used lasers to remove the corrosion, so as to leave no residue (and to protect pedestrians below). Then, a clear lacquer coating was applied to drive out moisture and protect the sculptures from the elements. (Billy Penn himself has a similar coating from his 1987 cleaning.)

It’s nice to see that the city — okay, and Pew Charitable Trusts and the Getty Grant Program, which funded it — does indeed care about keeping this city somewhat attractive. Look for a scaffolding-free top of City Hall within a few weeks. Hooray!

When the scaffolding goes down [Phillyskyline]