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San Jacinto Monument
As ses sment and Res torat i on
1990
The San Jacinto Monument was constructed in 1936 to commemorate the centennial of the battle in which Texas won its independence from Mexico.
By the 1980s, distress in the Cordova shell stone had resulted in fragments falling from the 570-foot-tall monument. The Texas Parks andWildlife
Department engagedWJE to design the restoration of the monument. WJE performed archival research, a detailed investigation, and site and laboratory
testing, as well as design and construction phase services for the restoration.
This project involved significant and innovative engineering assessment of distress conditions, combined with extensive petrographic and
laboratory assessments of stone materials. The combination of WJE technical expertise with an innovative trial repair program allowed the team
to evaluate and refine each repair technique, providing a basis for quality control as the overall repairs were implemented.
Notes of Interest
• On April 21, 1836, Mexican rule over Texas came to a
dramatic close, as General Sam Houston’s Texas revolutionarie
defeated the “Napoleon of theWest,”Mexican General
Antonio López de Santa Ana, and his army. The climax of the
Texas Revolution—the Battle of San Jacinto—eventually
moved America’s western border to the Pacific Ocean.
• The San Jacinto Monument—fifteen feet taller than the
Washington Monument—honors all those who fought fo
Texas independence.
• The shaft itself is octagonal, forty-eight feet at its base,
thirty feet at the observation level, and nineteen square
feet at the base of its crowning jewel—a 220-ton star
made from stone, steel, and concrete. Despite the scale,
danger, and novelty of the project, not a single life was lost
during its construction.
• As a result of the Battle of San Jacinto, almost a third
of what is now the United States of America changed
ownership. In the end, the United States gained not only
Texas but also New Mexico, Nevada, Arizona, Utah, and
parts of Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado, andWyoming.
WJE 50 Years