Adopt-A-Monument / Mural

Conserving public art through private funds

1987–present

In response to the deterioration of many of New York City’s outdoor statues and public murals in hospitals, schools and libraries, and the limited resources to preserve them, The Municipal Art Society initiated the Adopt-A-Monument program in 1987 and the Adopt-A-Mural program in 1991. Both programs were born as pleas to corporate and private donors to support the conservation of the city’s most neglected public statues and threatened murals. Today the programs protect 53 works of public art across all five boroughs.

The work of the Adopt-A-Monument Program is supported in part by generous funding from the Achelis & Bodman Foundation, the Anna-Maria & Stephen Kellen Foundation, and the Paul and Klara Porzelt Foundation.

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On May 19, 2023, Wilson Conservation conducted maintenance on the magnificent Henry Ward Beecher Monument. Photo: MAS. View the full album on Flickr.
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On May 30, 2023, conservators from Wilson Conservation conducted annual maintenance on the Admiral David Glasgow Farragut Monument. Photo: Kade Van Meeteren. View the full album on Flickr.
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On June 29, 2023, Wilson Conservation conducted annual maintenance on the James Gordon Bennett Memorial (The Bellringers). Photo: Kade Van Meeteren. View the full album on Flickr.
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On August 2, 2023, under the Adopt program, MAS contracted NYC Parks' Citywide Monuments Conservation team to complete the restoration on the Grand Central Stones initiated in 2017. Photo: Kade Van Meeteren. View the full album on Flickr.
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On October 25 - 27, 2023, conservators and stone masons from Cultural Heritage Conservation and Titan Roofing, under the Municipal Art Society's Adopt-A-Monument program, conducted annual maintenance on the Heinrich Heine Fountain ("Die Lorelei"). Photos: Kade Van Meeteren and Phyllis Cohen. View the full album on Flickr.
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MAS Adopt-A-Monument Program Director Phyllis Cohen gives an overview of the program and tells the story of three notable restorations - the Die Lorelie Fountain in the Bronx, the Bellringers in Herald Square, and the Evangeline Blashfield Fountain in Midtown.

To track our achievements, we have created an interactive map of all the monuments throughout New York City that have been restored and preserved through the Adopt-A-Monument program.

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