Statues will be back atop old City Hall Wednesday
By Anessa Myers
Published in News on November 19, 2007 1:46 PM
Goldsboro's historic statues will be back at their posts Wednesday -- and residents will get a chance Tuesday to get a close-up look.
Justice and Liberty will return to the top of City Hall after their $190,000 makeovers.
The statues are back to their original golden hues -- covering the white paint that was used to spruce them up sometime over their 105 years on top of city hall.
So, with the makeover at City Hall, it was time to update the statues as well, Assistant City Manager Tasha Logan.
The statues were taken down in January to be taken to Conservation Solutions Inc.'s studio in Virginia to be refurbished.
At that time, the nearly $200,000 price might have seemed high, but Ms. Logan said the work was something the city needed to do.
"They're trying to preserve the history of Goldsboro, and that's a piece of our history we're trying to maintain," she said. "I think the statues add character to the building. It's a monument that says, 'This is Goldsboro.'"
Before the statues return to their home, they will be showcased at Downtown Lights Up Tuesday night.
And City Manager Joe Huffman hopes that the public will be as excited about seeing them as he is.
He wants residents to take the opportunity to see those pieces of history.
"What I'd love to see is people show up, not only for the evening but to get an idea of what the city is investing in," he said. "I bet some people don't even know what the original statues looked like."
He said he thinks the newly refurbished statues will "set the downtown off like few people will anticipate."
"I keep hearing positive comments on City Hall already," he said. "When they see these two statues, they are going to be amazed."