Clarification: Although City Council members interviewed for this story did not recollect that the monument was in need of repair, minutes show that at the July 6, 2017 City Council meeting, the council voted unanimously to apply for a state grant to pay for the repairs.

TROY — From the distance of half a block or so, the iconic Rensselaer County Soldiers and Sailors Monument appears to be as solid as 500 tons of granite can be. But look closer, and you might notice that it’s suffering from flaking, cracking, stains and water damage.

Following last year's completion of a city-commissioned assessment of the monument's health, Mayor Patrick Madden’s administration quietly applied for a highly competitive state historic preservation grant to underwrite $304,592 in needed repairs.

But the revenue-strapped city didn’t win the grant, leaving it without any funds for the 127-year-old monument.

The 93-foot-tall monument, topped by the 17-foot high bronze statue “Call to Arms,” is part of the city’s fabric, the centerpiece for Monument Square at the heart of downtown.

“This is obviously an iconic feature of not just downtown Troy but all of Troy," said Madden's spokesman John Salka. "It’s an important asset. We’re continuing to look at other funding opportunities."

City Council leaders on both sides of the aisle said they knew nothing about the need to repair the monument or the city’s unsuccessful grant application. Even so, they said they'll make an effort to find financial support for the repairs, particularly with the city set to make its fifth attempt to find a developer for 1 Monument Square, the former City Hall site across the street from the monument.

“It’s an integral part of Troy’s skyline," said Democratic Councilman Anasha Cummings, whose 4th District includes the monument. "As part of the whole 1 Monument Square design, we need to make it a complete, vibrant civic space."

“We definitely have to protect and rehabilitate it — it’s an important part of our history,” said Republican City Council President Carmella Mantello, who agreed the upkeep of the monument needs to be part of the discussion surrounding the redevelopment of 1 Monument Square.

The city is holding a four-day-long planning session in late June to solicit public comments about how the vacant 1.2-acre Monument Square site should be developed.

The monument’s cornerstone was laid on Memorial Day 1890 and dedicated on Sept. 15, 1891, to honor veterans of the Civil War as well as the American Revolution, the War of 1812, and the 1846-'48 Mexican-American. The Rensselaer County Soldiers and Sailors Monument Association owned the monument until 1950, when the city of Troy assumed responsibility for it.

The assessment — conducted by Albany-based John G. Waite Associates, one of the nation's premier architectural firms working in historic preservation — called it "an excellent example of American monument architecture of the late 19th century."

It was built to last, as noted in an 1892 article in The Monumental News that's excerpted in last year's report: "Especial attention was given to the foundations and it is safe to assert that no substructure ever made in this country will prove more enduring than this."

"The intent of its robust construction was that it would require little regular maintenance," the recent assessment states. "But some routine upkeep is needed, particularly at mortar joints, and the reapplication of protective wax to the bronze artwork that adorns the monument.”

The assessment was funded by a grant of around $4,500 from the Troy Savings Bank Charitable Foundation. As part of the evaluation, a drone was used to photograph James E. Kelly's statue "Call to Arms" — perhaps the first time since 1891 that it’s been seen up close. (The statue is also referred to in articles and documents as "A Call to Arms" and "The Call to Arms.")

The assessment says that the decision to use the “large blocks of extremely durable Quincy (Mass.) granite” has paid off in keeping the monument almost immovable, preserving its integrity, although the degradation of the masonry joints has led to some shifting of the stones in its superstructure.

The joints between the blocks were originally filled with an early Portland cement mortar. This was later replaced with a caulking compound that wasn’t properly applied, leading to “widespread failure of the joints,” according to the study.

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As a result, water damage has led to displacement of some of the granite. Moss and other biological growth has sprouted in come of the joints. This in turn has led to discoloration of some of the granite, and the cracking and flaking — known as "spalling" — along part of the granite surface. Water also has gotten behind some of the bronze plaques, which show minor corrosion.

As for the 17-foot-tall statue, it needs a close-up assessment when repairs are made, the report states.

The assessment recommends that the city should clean the monument, the statue and eight bronze plaques; clean out the mortar joints and refill them; remove the plant growth; and apply a protective wax coating to the bronzework. The report also says the city also should make site improvements including providing better illumination of the monument and the statue.

City Historian Kathy Sheehan said the last time work was done on the monument was in the 1990s. While the Rensselaer County Historic Society provided archival information about the monument for the recent assessment, it never heard what came of the report.

Mantello said the City Council’s General Services Committee should assess not only the work needed on the monument, but on other city-owned properties as well. Salka said the administration has been urging this be done.