

By Claire Byun

cbyun@nolamessenger.com

The General P.G.T. Beauregard monument – which towered over the traffic circle in front of the New Orleans Museum of Art for years – may have found a new home.

The city is in talks with Greenwood Cemetery to house the seven-ton statue after several months of uncertainty, according to the City Park Improvement Board. Paul Masinter, board member, said the monument’s final location isn’t cemented and could change, but city leaders “are getting close.”

Erin Burns, press secretary with the mayor’s office, said the city does not have a comment on the plan or if the city is close to an agreement.

Greenwood Cemetery opened in 1852 and houses an entire tomb for unknown Confederate soldiers. The sprawling cemetery sits off City Park Avenue and its above-ground mausoleums are a popular tourist attraction. With the monument’s move – which hasn’t been finalized yet – City Park can finally start cleaning up the roundabout left behind in the scuffle.

“All of the board members I’ve spoken to have expressed support in moving forward and trying to get a positive solution to the statue, so the park can move forward and remember the statue in a positive way,” Masinter said.

City Park staff have been waiting to hear the future of the Beauregard monument before they could take any action. In May, the board met behind closed doors to discuss “the board’s legal position on the monument” with City Park attorneys, board chair Steve Pettus said.

After conversations with the city, Pettus said the park will provide opportunities for public input on what becomes of the easement once housing the Confederate memorial, but park officials “aren’t going to rush into anything.” Though the monument’s land rights have been in question for weeks, City Park officials will take the lead deciding what will take its place.

“We’re just waiting on the city to tell us what comes next,” Bob Becker, park CEO, said.

Both Beauregard and the Jefferson Davis monument were spotted in a Desire storage yard after their removal, according to a WWL-TV report, just one day after Beauregard was dismantled.

City Park doesn’t have to take a vote on the move, Lupo said, though they will vote on whatever replaces the vacant pedestal. Several board members expressed their support of the move, especially since it means the park can clean up the giant pedestal left vacant in front of the art museum.

Masinter repeatedly referred to the circle as “Beauregard Circle” until another board member mentioned that City Park will have to change the name eventually.

“We’ll see what the future holds for this circle,” Masinter said.

The 102-year-old statue was one of four Confederacy-era monuments dismantled in May, to the chagrin of dozens of protestors – many from out of town. Crews set up barricades in the early evening of May 16 to block off the traffic circle, but work on the monument didn’t start until about 9 p.m.

Crews wrapped the statue in green bubble wrap and secured it with harnesses before lifting up the memorial a little after 3 a.m.

[Correction: An earlier version of this article incorrectly attributed a comment to board member Robert Lupo. Lupo was not among the board members who participated in the statue discussion, and this article has been updated to correct the attribution.]