LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Metro Council’s Labor and Economic Development Committee has approved a resolution to allocate funding to restore the King Louis XVI statue that once stood at the corner of Sixth and Jefferson streets in downtown Louisville.
What You Need To Know
Metro Council’s Labor and Economic Development Committee approved $205,000 to restore the King Louis XVI statue
The statue was damaged and vandalized during the 2020 Breonna Taylor protests and has remained in storage for nearly six years
The contract with Wiebold Studio would cover cleaning and treatment of the historic statue
The resolution now moves to the full Metro Council for consideration under old business
The statue was removed in 2020 after sustaining damage and vandalism during the Breonna Taylor protests. It has remained in storage for nearly six years.
The committee approved spending $205,000 on a professional services contract with Wiebold Studio to clean and treat the King Louis statue. Council members Anthony Piagentini and Ken Herndon sponsored the measure.
Herndon, who represents District 4, said public artworks such as the statue require greater financial support.
“We’ve had an anemic amount of money annually in the budget to take care of our public art. It is not sufficient to do the job we all want to do. So I’d like to discuss upping the ante in this current budget for future use and making that an annual contribution.”
The statue was presented as a gift from Louisville’s sister city, Montpellier, France, in 1966.
The resolution will now move to the full Metro Council, where members will consider it during the discussion of old business.
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