Hackley Park Monument Conservation
July 24, 2025
The City of Muskegon has contracted with The Tradesmen Group to complete much needed professional conservation work to the five, historic bronze and granite monuments at Hackley Park (1892-1900), the President William McKinley monument (1902) across Webster Avenue from the park, and the General Philip Kearny monument (1901) at Terrace and Peck Streets. This project is being supported in part by a grant awarded by the National Park Service, Department of the Interior as well as through a generous donation from Patrick O’Leary, the chairman of the board of SPX, formerly known as Sealed Power, that established the City of Muskegon’s Public Art Maintenance Fund.
Many of the monuments are located in the Muskegon Historic District which is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. The statuary of Hackley Park had its last comprehensive conservation treatment in 1998. Since then, basic cleaning and waxing was last performed over five years ago by staff from the Lakeshore Museum Center. The professional treatment underway now will ensure the monuments’ continued longevity, as without this work, they are at risk of serious deterioration.
As part of the project, City staff will also be trained in the appropriate techniques needed to clean and wax the bronze sculptures in the future on a scheduled and routine basis. Work began at Hackley Park this week, and the project will wrap up in about 2-3 weeks, eventually shifting to Kearny Memorial.
The public is w
elcome to stop at the parks and observe the conservators at work!