Spirit of Progress atop former Montgomery Ward building is taken down for repairs

The statue atop the old Montgomery Ward building is heading to the suburbs to get some work done.

The Spirit of Progress, a statue depicting the goddess Diana, has stood on the tower of the Montgomery Ward and Co. administration building since 1929. The building — constructed in 1927 on the east bank of the Chicago River — is now condominiums.

Restoring the Spirit of Progress is one of several projects underway to maintain and preserve the building, according to the One River Place Condominium Association, which manages the building at 758 N. Larrabee St.

Diana was taken down Saturday and will be reinstalled next spring. The Conservation of Sculpture and Objects Studio in Lake Forest will restore and repair the bronze figure.

"We are proud to be maintaining this important aspect of the Chicago skyline," the association's board and homeowners said in a statement.

The 22.5-foot female figure stands with her left foot on a globe and holding a torch high in her right hand, and in the other she points a caduceus, an ancient symbol of commerce.

The Spirit of Progress is a replica of a gilded weather vane, called Progress Lighting the Way for Commerce, on the former Montgomery Ward offices at 2 N. Michigan Ave, according to the history website Chicagology. That statue and the tower it stood on came down in 1947 when the building was found to be structurally unsafe.

That statue was modeled after the weather vane on top of the Agriculture Building at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition.

The sculptor of Diana was unknown for several years and remains disputed, according to the Smithsonian American Art Museum and Chicagology.

It could be the work of Joseph Conradi, who did several sculptures for Chicago buildings. At least two of Conradi's relatives have said he made it, according to Chicagology. But photo captions from 1929 credit the artist George Mulligan.

The Montgomery Ward administration building and the original catalog house building across the street were added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. The condo association is currently seeking city landmark status for the building.