Make sure you get behind Lincoln's ears

March 31, 2009 11:43 AM

Who cleans the US national memorials? How often is it done and how long does it take? What is the cleaning process like?
posted by easy_being_green to grab bag (4 comments total)

Really big Q-tips.
posted by steef at 11:48 AM on March 31 [1 favorite]

Short answer is that most are under the auspices of the National Park Service. I don't know the specifics about cleaning.
posted by inigo2 at 11:52 AM on March 31

inigo2 is right: the National Park Service is responsible for the national memorials.

But that doesn't mean that they actually do it. They're chronically short of money, and maintenance is an easy area of the budget to locate cuts.

Volunteers have been known to pitch in, and it's not uncommon for memorials to simply go without.

The plan for cleaning is probably "Once or twice a year," but the reality is probably more like "When we get to it," and that would depend on where the particular memorial is located and how visible it is. It may also depend on the motivation and organization of local/regional management.

In other words, there really isn't any easy way to tell, but the National Park Service is ultimately responsible for it.
posted by valkyryn at 12:15 PM on March 31

Don't know how accurate this would be, but one of Nevada Barr's super cool ass-kickin' Anna Pigeon mystery novels takes place at and around the Statue of Liberty. The guy who takes care of the statue is a minor character and it's pretty interesting, how he talks about cleaning the statue. The book's called Liberty Falling and it's a darn good read regardless.
posted by Neofelis at 12:50 PM on March 31