Construction workers from the City of Santa Fe’s Facility Management Division and the Parks Department take apart the box surrounding the Soldiers’ Monument at the center of the Santa Fe Plaza and clean the graffiti off the monument, per a recent court ruling by First Judicial District Judge Matthew Wilson in a lawsuit that local Spanish fraternal organization Union Protectiva de Santa Fe filed against the city and Mayor Alan Webber.
Union Protectiva de Santa Fe argued in the lawsuit the monument, which local activists tore down in Oct. 2020, is protected under the 1989 New Mexico Prehistoric and Historic Sites Preservation Act. After activists toppled the obelisk, Webber ordered the remaining base of the monument to be obscured from view by a wooden box.
The December ruling states the city either has 180 days to restore the obelisk monument fully, or can take no further action to change the monument once uncovered. The dismantling of the box and the restoration of the obelisk is on schedule to be complete by Friday, according to Facilities Division Director Sam Burnett.
Editor's note: This article previously misstated the court ruling ordered the city to restore the obelisk within 180 days, but the ruling instead stated the city can choose to either restore the monument or take no further action after removing any element obscuring the monument. SFR regrets the error.