SEBASTIAN — The historical obelisk at Riverview Park no longer leans at the corner of Indian River Drive and Harrison Street. Instead, it now stands upright courtesy of Sebastian city employees.
“We had to be kind of careful,” City Manager Al Minner said, due to the condition of the 82-year-old marker. The exterior of the obelisk is concrete but the interior was wood, which has since deteriorated, making the interior hollow.
Minner said the work only cost the city in terms of the time put into setting the obelisk straight.
Councilwoman Andrea Coy, who had asked Minner to direct staff to figure out a way to upright the obelisk, said she was excited to hear that the monument was fixed.
The councilwoman also said she hopes to see more trees in the area because the palm that had been near the obelisk was removed.
Minner said he expects the city to plant two Sabal palms in the same area as the obelisk soon.
The marker was installed in 1927 by one of Sebastian’s pioneers, Paris Lawson, to show the south city line.
“Sebastian doesn’t have that long a history,” Coy said at a council meeting in November, adding that the city needs to do what it can to preserve what it has.
What exactly caused the 9-foot tall obelisk to begin leaning in the first place remains a mystery – though there are a few theories.
The nearby palm tree’s roots could have disturbed the marker’s foundation. Another theory involves the effects of numerous hurricanes that have swept through Sebastian over the decades.
At no time, however, did the leaning obelisk pose a public safety threat, according to city leaders.