Dollar Bank's lions to return Downtown in June

Sam Spatter
Friday, May 3, 2013 4:48 p.m. | Friday, May 3, 2013 4:48 p.m.

Gwen Titley | Tribune-Review

Barry Chad, a docent with the Pittsburgh History and Landmark Foundation, shows Hoover Elementary students the original Dollar Bank lions on June 5, 2013 at the Dollar Bank on Fourth Avenue. The original statues were carved by Max Kohler in 1871.

Gwen Titley | Tribune-Review

The new Dollar Bank lions were unveiled on June 5, 2013 outside of the bank's Fourth Avenue location. The new statues were carved by Nicholas Fairplay to replace the originals, which were carved by Max Kohler in 1871.

Gwen Titley | Tribune-Review

Two stone lions that presided over Downtown from the front steps of Dollar Bank's Fourth Avenue office from 1871 until 2009 will return on June 5.

But the lions will be reproductions of two 13,000-pound brownstone lions that now stand guard indoors.

The original lions, carved in 1871 by sculptor Max Kohler, were removed because of deterioration caused by weather, atmospheric conditions and a 1936 flood.

A 20-ton crane was used on Sept. 12, 2009, to lift the original lions off their perch. They were moved to McKay Lodge Conservation Laboratory Inc.'s sculpture conservation facility in Oberlin, Ohio. There, not only were the original lions restored, but Nicholas Fairplay produced the exact reproductions that will return in June.

Dollar Bank plans to release details about the event later.

Sam Spatter is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at 412-320-7843 or sspatter@tribweb.com.

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