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Media contacts: Kim Schuette: 614.297.2314 or kschuette@ohiohistory.org
For Immediate Release
Harding Tomb Restoration Set To Begin
Process To Commence In Late Spring
(COLUMBUS, Ohio) – The Ohio Historical Society has announced that the restoration of the Harding Tomb in Marion is set to begin sometime in early June and is planned to be completed by the middle of September. The refurbishment has been made possible by generous funding from the past two capital appropriations bills passed by the Ohio legislature.
State capital appropriations of $550,000 will finance cleaning the base of the tomb, relaying the terrace pavers to help eliminate staining on the base, repairs to the marble and interpretative plaques, and site and landscape improvements. There will be a pre-bid meeting for interested contractors at the Harding Tomb site 10 a.m., May 7, after which the Ohio Historical Society will begin accepting bids for the project.
"It is our goal to have the work completed before the annual observance of President Harding's birthday on Oct. 11 when the wreath sent by President Obama is laid at the tomb," says George Kane, Ohio Historical Society director of Historic Sites and Facilities. "We invite the city of Marion to attend the event and to see the improvements at the memorial site."
Harding, the 29th President of the United States, died in 1923 while still in office. Florence K. Harding died the following year. Both were originally buried in the receiving vault in Marion Cemetery. School children sent in pennies to raise money for the memorial to President Harding. Construction of the tomb was completed in 1927 and President and Mrs. Harding's bodies were moved to the tomb in December of that year. On June 16, 1931 the tomb was officially dedicated by President Herbert Hoover.
The tomb, designed by Henry Hornbostel and Eric Wood, is a circular monument of white Georgia marble containing the remains of President and Mrs. Harding. The monument, set in ten acres of landscaped grounds, is similar in appearance to a round Greek temple. The simple Doric features and spacious surroundings combine to create one of the most beautiful presidential memorials outside Washington, D. C.
The Harding Tomb is at the corner of State Route 423 and Vernon Heights Boulevard in Marion. Vernon Heights is about 1-1/2 miles west of U.S. Route 23 off of State Route 95 in Marion County.
The Harding Home and Tomb are a part of the 58-site system administered by the Ohio Historical Society, a nonprofit organization that serves as the state's partner in preserving and interpreting Ohio's history, natural history and archaeology. For more information, visit www.ohiohistory.org.
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