Getting the Confederate Memorial out of St. Louis' Forest Park will take at least a week longer than expected, according to the mayor's office.
Koran Addo, spokesman for Mayor Lyda Krewson, said Tuesday that the company tasked with taking down the 32-foot-tall granite and bronze statue needs to bring in more equipment to lift the biggest piece, which weighs about 45 tons.
Addo also said that while some preliminary work might be done at the site this week, the bulk of the job will be delayed until at least next week.
The United Daughters of the Confederacy put the statue up with the city’s permission in 1914 — 49 years after the end of the Civil War. It's been the subject of discussion and debate since 2015, but it wasn't until recently that the city has moved toward taking it down completely.
The top of the statue was removed last week, along with the street signs on Confederate Drive.
It’s not clear who’ll cover the cost of removing the memorial; Slay’s commission estimated it could be at least $130,000. Krewson has talked about using a combination of public and private money, although a bill being considered by the Board of Aldermen would block the use of any taxpayer dollars. Treasurer Tishaura Jones has a crowdfunding account set up to help raise funds to take it down, and had collected more than $17,000 as of Tuesday.
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