The large west pillar at Mentelle Park’s Cramer Avenue end was repaired this morning following an accident last Thursday. A member of the sewer line replacement crew that has been working in the neighborhood was moving a piece of heavy equipment when his trailer clipped the pillar, breaking its cement seal at the street and knocking it crooked on its base.
The crew returned this morning, straightened the pillar and cemented it back in place. It looks good as new.
The pillars, which were installed along with Mentelle Park’s street in 1905 before any home construction began, were designed for a traffic pattern of the horse-and-buggy era, and they have suffered their share of wear-and-tear over the years. A few years ago, a delivery truck backed into the large east pillar at Cramer, knocking it into the street in many pieces. Fortunately, a city engineer driving by soon afterward noticed it and called for a crew to gather up and safely store all the pieces until it could be rebuilt by an expert mason. The city later hired the same mason to repair the large east pillar at Main Street when water and ice infiltration was causing it to split apart from the top. We appreciate city government’s efforts to maintain our historic neighborhood!
