The monument to the 74th Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment on West Howard Avenue in Gettysburg National Military Park. This view was taken facing east at approximately 8:00 AM on Friday, October 21, 2011.
Back in July, we reported on the National Park Service’s plans to repair the 74th Pennsylvania monument by “Fall” of this year. We’ll check back in on that monument today, as well as the North Gettysburg Trail, whose most recent extension put the project at finishing by “the end of October.”
This “Dead Monument’s Curve Ahead” sign was put in a little over a year ago, to warn motorists of the tight turn. This view was taken facing northeast at approximately 8:00 AM on Friday, October 21, 2011.
Of course, even early on a Friday morning Howard Avenue sees a great deal of use, and it’s clear that it’s not from tourists. The cars we saw as we took pictures, including this one, were all traveling at a nice clip, had Pennsylvania license plates, and are likely local to the area. This view was taken facing northeast at approximately 8:00 AM on Friday, October 21, 2011.
So has the monument been repaired? This view was taken facing north at approximately 8:00 AM on Friday, October 21, 2011.
As you can see, the answer is “no.” The monument still rests in three separate sections after the accident in July of 2010. This view was facing north at approximately 8:00 AM on Friday, October 21, 2011.
Well, it will still be “Fall” for a bit longer, so perhaps we should give the National Park Service the benefit of the doubt … This view was facing southwest at approximately 8:00 AM on Friday, October 21, 2011.
… though in a recent press release about maintenance work, the 74th Pennsylvania monument went unmentioned. As always we realize the task of repairing monuments is a challenge, but when they go unrepaired for months upon months, and months turn into years … we start to worry. This view was facing southwest at approximately 8:00 AM on Friday, October 21, 2011.
As we drove along the rest of Howard Avenue (this photo was taken from Barlow’s/Blocher’s Knoll), we decided to check in on another delayed project … This view was taken facing southeast at approximately 8:00 AM on Friday, October 21, 2011.
… the North Gettysburg Trail, which runs right to left along the center of this photograph. This view was taken facing southeast at approximately 8:00 AM on Friday, October 21, 2011.
Before we take a look at the trail though, we stitched together this small panorama of the rainbow that was forming over Barlow’s Knoll and to the north of Gettysburg on this beautiful October morning. This view was taken facing west at approximately 8:00 AM on Friday, October 21, 2011.
The contractor for the North Gettysburg Trail project cited the heavy rains this fall as the reason for the delay on this project (which was initially supposed to be completed by the end of summer). We have had fairly consistent nice weather this last week, but no construction crews have been seen. This view was taken facing southwest at approximately 8:00 AM on Friday, October 21, 2011.
There is certainly the makings of a trail in place in some sections, but we highly doubt we’ll see this project finished before the end of the month, and it will be interesting to see how the paving portion is completed when colder weather sits in. The newly purchased Josiah Benner Farm is just down the road from this picture, and we plan on giving you a special look at that structure next week. This view was taken facing northeast at approximately 8:00 AM on Friday, October 21, 2011.