The National Park Service (NPS) announced Tuesday that it will restore and reinstall the statue of Albert Pike in Washington, D.C., more than five years after it was vandalized and toppled during the 2020 riots.
The decision comes under the umbrella of historic preservation law and follows recent executive orders that aim to beautify the nation’s capital and reinstate previously authorized monuments.
The Pike statue, authorized by Congress in 1898 and unveiled in 1901, commemorates Pike’s leadership in Freemasonry, where he served 32 years as Sovereign Grand Commander of the Ancient Rite of Scottish Freemasonry.
Despite the controversy surrounding Pike’s past, the federal government is moving forward with its obligation to preserve and protect historic structures under federal jurisdiction.
“This action supports both the Executive Order on Making the District of Columbia Safe and Beautiful and the Executive Order on Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History,” the NPS said, “which direct federal agencies to protect public monuments and present a full and accurate picture of the American past.”
The statue was torn down and set on fire by protesters during the June 2020 riots, part of a wave of vandalism and monument destruction that swept across major U.S. cities during that summer’s unrest. It has since been held in secure storage and is now undergoing professional restoration by the Historic Preservation Training Center under the National Park Service.
Site preparation at the original location will begin soon, the agency said, focusing on repairing the statue’s damaged masonry base, including broken stone, mortar joints, and mounting hardware.
The NPS says it is targeting October 2025 for the full reinstatement of the restored statue.
While the move is certain to reignite debate, it marks a clear signal from the federal government: monuments authorized by Congress — regardless of current political sentiment — are to be preserved and restored as part of America’s historical record.
