The Louisville Water Tower’s preservation project is about 75% of the way done. A big part of the effort was restoring the 19th-century zinc statues that surround the tower’s balcony.

In 2020, the 10 mythological figures were removed by crane and sent to EverGreene Architectural Arts in Washington D.C. For a year, the restoration company worked to preserve the original components of the statues while adding a durable outer layer of protection to each.

The 10 mythological figures — Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter, Mercury, Neptune, Hebe, Danaide, Flora, and Indian Hunter and Dog — were originally installed in 1890. | Photo by EverGreene Architectural Arts

This isn’t the statue’s first restoration rodeo either. In 1890, a tornado broke the tower at the balustrade and the statues had to be replaced in the early 1990s. Then, in 1980, the statue of Flora fell and her foot had to be replaced.

Now, the restored statues are waiting in storage to be returned to the tower, which is the oldest functioning water tower of its kind in the US. The project is expected to wrap up this fall.