Pacific Coast Garrison Monument

The Pacific Coast Garrison Monument, erected 1897 at San Francisco National Cemetery, is a type of cast zinc (“white bronze”) statuary known as the Union color bearer manufactured by the Monumental Bronze Company of Bridgeport, Connecticut. The foundation is fabricated from units of granite separated by mortar joints, and the cast zinc base and statue were left uncoated to oxidize and resemble a grey colored stone. Statues of this type were sold through catalogues in the late 19th century and placed as monuments across the nation.

ARG Conservation Services was contracted to treat the monument in accordance with current conservation standards. Treatment objectives were to gently clean the zinc without removing the oxidized surface, replicate the missing zinc sword and scabbard, re-point the deteriorated mortar in the joints on the granite, and re-grade the adjacent landscape to facilitate drainage around the granite foundation. ARG/CS also made recommendations for maintenance and future preservation of this important historic monument.