A memorial to 11,500 men and women who died on British prison ships during the Revolutionary War received a makeover fitting of the people it honors.

Officials from the Parks Department unveiled the Prison Ship Martyrs Monument, as well as a 15-story Doric column and bronze eagles, at Fort Greene Park on November 15 following the completion of the monument’s restoration.

The day also marked the monument’s centennial.

As dusk approached, leaders lit the monument for the first time with a spectacular lighting scheme designed to illuminate the urn, column, and eternal flame at the top.

“The Prison Ship Martyrs Monument at Fort Greene Park may be 100 years old, but it has never looked better,” said Parks Department Commissioner Adrian Benepe. “Today's monumental unveiling and lighting is a tribute to the 11,500 patriots whose bones are entombed in the crypt after perishing aboard British prison ships during the American Revolution.”

Originally dedicated on November 14, 1908, at a ceremony attended by President-elect William Howard Taft, the Prison Ship Martyrs Monument in Fort Greene Park underwent a $5 million restoration for its centennial.

The monument was designed by McKim, Mead & White, the preeminent American architectural firm of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The monument, a massive Doric-order classical column on a double-stepped plinth, is surmounted by a ceremonial bronze urn with an eternal flame motif. Four bronze eagles adorn the corners of the plaza.

All photos by Daniel Avila/Parks Department