City Council Awards $50K to Help Restore Soldiers and Sailors Monument in Kennedy Plaza

(Left to Right: City Council Acting Chief of Staff James Lombardi III, Esq., City Council President Sabina Matos, City Council President Pro Tempore Michael Correia, Providence City Archivist Caleb Horton, City Council Deputy Majority Leader Mary Kay Harris, Project Manager Kat Boots, Downtown Providence Parks Conservancy, and Executive Director of both the Providence Foundation and the Downtown Providence Parks Conservancy.)

Providence, RI (January 24, 2018) – Providence City Council President Sabina Matos, Ward 15, today awarded the Downtown Providence Parks Conservancy $50K to help in the restoration of Rhode Island’s Soldiers and Sailors Monument located in Kennedy Plaza. The funding for these restoration projects were set aside by the Council during last year’s budget negotiations to address the continued maintenance of several of Providence’s historical monuments.

«The restoration and care of our City’s monuments and landmarks is an important endeavor,» stated Council President Sabina Matos. «The Soldiers and Sailors Monument is an iconic symbol of our downtown neighborhood. This funding will help the Downtown Providence Parks Conservancy to begin the much-needed work to restore this Civil War monument that stands as an honor to the ‘memory of those who died so that the Country might live.’ And I am very happy to see this work begin.»

Nearly 2,000 Rhode Islander died during the Civil War, and the Soldiers and Sailors Monument was designed by American artist Randolph Rogers to honor their sacrifice. When it was first dedicated in 1871 it was a place for the fallen soldier’s families to gather and to remember the unimaginable loss that our state’s residents suffered.

Executive Director of the Downtown Providence Parks Conservancy Cliff Wood stated, «This support from the Providence City Council comes at a critical time in the fundraising for the Soldiers & Sailors Restoration Project. The Downtown Providence Parks Conservancy thanks them for their commitment to improving and maintaining our shared public spaces and for understanding the important story told by this nationally recognized monument. A monument which lists the names of all the Rhode Islanders who fell protecting the future of our national union.»

The funding comes from the Providence City Archives who during last year’s budgeting process was awarded these funds to support the City’s landmarks including funds towards the restoration of Federal Hill’s DePasquale Plaza fountain.

For more information on the City Council, visit us on the web at council.providence.gov.