The Benson Park Advisory Committee is continuing restoration efforts on the historic Lion’s Pride statues while beginning discussions about how and where the landmark pieces could eventually be displayed in the park.
At its latest meeting, committee members reviewed progress on the restoration project following the statues’ first public appearance during Benson Park’s Centennial celebration.
“At this point, our volunteer has washed them, put certain chemicals on them, and now it needs to dry, to completely dry before he can go to the next step,” explained Committee Chair Sue Clement. “He has been in contact with people who have experience working on this type of concrete. He’s been working with them and figuring out the best way to make the repairs.”
Clement emphasized that restoration is a lengthy process and cautioned against moving too quickly toward decisions about a permanent display.
“Another thing a lot of people are talking about is whether we should start thinking about where we’re going to place them. Should we get the ball rolling on that?” asked Clement. “We kind of went onto this when we got the lions and then we realized what kind of shape the lions were in and realized that we needed to do this using a step-by-step process. I think we should continue with the idea of whether we can get these restorations done before we go and build something or spend money on something else.”
Committee member Jan Horvath, who has previously suggested building a custom structure to protect the statues from weather damage, asked about the final appearance of the restored lions.
“Is Lee planning on giving the lions color? Or will they stay black and white?” Horvath asked.
Committee members explained that the volunteer restorationist does not intend to paint the statues. Historical photographs from the Benson’s Wild Animal Farm era show the Lion’s Pride without paint.
Several committee members agreed that the statues cannot remain indefinitely in their current storage location near the Kitchen and Office Building.
“This is a storage area for equipment,” said committee member Nathan Muir.
A permanent public display remains a long-term goal for the committee.
“I always thought it would be nice if we could put them into an old animal cage,” said Horvath. “Maybe the covering on the cage won’t be big enough for us to drop the statues in; I didn’t really look at all of the details, but I think it can be done. I don’t know how much it will cost. There are people who cut trees down, and they have a huge crane. The lions weigh less.”
Muir agreed that protecting the statues from the elements would be essential.
“If we could figure that out, it’d be fantastic,” he said. “Maybe if we had glass and ventilation. It just adds a lot of cost and complication to it.”
“They can’t be exposed to weather, and we need to make sure kids can’t get in or throwing things at it,” Clement added.
Despite recent progress and public interest in the restoration effort, Clement stressed that it remains unclear whether the statues can be fully restored.
“Right now, let’s just see what Lee can do. They might not be savable, and I think he’ll probably know that in a little while,” she said. “We’re still on step one.”
