Todd Grover with MacDonald & Mack Architects firm gives a cost breakdown for the $11.6 million Hermann Monument reconstruction project, during Tuesday’s City Council meeting. Grover explained during the project overview that the monument was deteriorating due to water trapped inside the structure. After decades of freezing and thawing, this water has begun eroding Hermann’s base. Photo by Clay Schuldt

NEW ULM – For over a century, water infiltration has been a problem at the Hermann Monument.

Now, after decades of repair attempts the City of New Ulm is forced to dissemble and reconstruct the monument at a cost of $11.6 million if it is to remain a part of the community.

Representatives from the MacDonald & Mack Architects attended the New Ulm City Council meeting Tuesday to give a detailed report on costs associated with Hermann Monument’s dissemble and reconstruction.

MacDonald & Mack Architects firm was commissioned by the city to create a report detailing the phases and costs to dismantle and reconstruct Hermann Monument in November. The full report was submitted to the city council during a March work session.

Todd Grover, a principle partner with MacDonald & Mack provided further details on the cost estimate for the council. Grover also provided an overview on how the monument has deteriorated over the years.

“A lot of it is related to water infiltration both at the dome and at the base,” Grover said.

Since the monument was first constructed in between 1888-1897, the monument has gone through several repairs, many were related to water infiltration. In 1901, interior finishes on the main level were replaced due to water damage. In 1905, there was a water leak on the deck that needed to be repaired. However, it was the repairs in 1951 and 1973 that had the greatest impact on the monuments deterioration.

Grover explained that in 1951, sprayed gunite concrete was placed over sandstone to repair the main level of the monument. This was done to prevent water infiltration into the monument, but in the end it caused water to become trapped in the monument.

“Gunite is OK in the sense that it will keep water out, but it cracks easy,” Grover said. “Once that cracking started to happen, water got in, but water could not get out.”

In 1973, the monument was re-coated with gunite to deal with new water infiltration, but this only helped trap more water.

In 2018, MacDonald & Mack conducted core drillings of the monument base and floor. Grover said the core material removed was crumbling and water had infiltrated the entire base.

“The base and dome underneath Hermann is beyond repair,” Grover said. “We’ve been seeing 70 years of constant deterioration, constant water infiltration with a freeze-thaw cycles essentially eroding it.”

This leaves reconstruction as the only option for the Hermann Monument. However, to maintain the monument’s National Historical Registry status, it must be disassembled and follow specific guidelines for reconstruction.

During the first phase of Hermann’s reconstruction, the monument will be systematically disassembled with a plan for salvaging parts to be reused in reconstruction. Grover said items like the columns, lions, railings and the Hermann statue itself could likely be reused. Other elements like the brick and stone will need to be demolished.

During the second phase when the monument is reconstructed, the Secretary of Interior standards will be followed to maintain historical registry status. The new structure will resemble the original look, but will be made from different materials. The interpretive center would be a concrete and steel structure instead of a masonry structure. The exterior cladding would be detailed to look like the original design.

“Whatever isn’t seen, we have more flexibility on making it more contemporary and making that more structurally sound, but cladding it in historical materials,” Grover said.

The $11.6 million estimate for disassembling and reconstructing the monument does include 10% add on for inflation in the first year.

Grover said the $11.6 million cost could rise as the monument continues to deteriorate. As parts of the monument become harder to access and safety issues increase, prices could rise.

City Councilor Larry Mack asked if it was still safe for the public to go up the monument under these conditions.

City Manager Chris Dalton said a final decision on whether to allow public access to the monument would be coming before the Parks & Recreation Commission, however it was recommended the city not allow people go up the monument outside of private tours.

Councilor Tom Schmitz asked if there were any examples of a historically significant monument being dissembled and reconstruction.

Grover said with historical structures, repair and restoration are the most common changes. Reconstruction is extremely rare. He said in the 50 years MacDonald and Mack has been in business, they have only worked on a couple reconstruction projects.

“It is unusual,” he said. “There are not a lot of examples we can point to.”

Grover said the reconstruction works best if documentation exists to show how to rebuild it. For this reason the disassemble process will be heavily documented to make sure Hermann Monument can be reconstructed accurately.

Council President Andrea Boettger asked what the plan was for storing reusable materials taken off the monument.

Grover said some of the reusable material will be stored on site in Hermann Heights Park. The plan is to keep the Hermann statue on display in the park. Other salvaged materials will be held by the city at different storage sites.

Mayor Kathleen Backer said she was elated to see how far this project has come and it was great to have cost estimates because previously the costs have been speculative. She was also excited to see potential for preserving historical status of the monument.

Backer said the project had a long way to go before it was completed and funding it would be a big ask, but the city had taken a leap forward in restoring Hermann.