The Saint Gaudens Monument Re-Opens

The Saint Gaudens’ monument in New Hampshire reopened, as the government shutdown came to an end, on Thursday.

Barriers went down at Saint Gaudens national monument as thousands of furloughed workers returned to work across the country Thursday after 16 days off the job due to the government shutdown.

Alongside the Saint Gaudens National Monument, Gettysburg National Park in Pennsylvania, and the U.S Capitol visitors center opened.

“Just to be able to get back to serving the public is so important,” said Greg Bettwy as he prepared to return to his job in Washington with the Smithsonian Institution’s human resource department.

The government shutdown had affected national parks services, including the Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site in Cornish, N.H.

The Saint Gaudens park site, which includes the home, studio, gardens, and artwork of sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens, employs about 15 people, including seasonal employees. The park is closing and staff are remaining at home during the shutdown.

Saint Gaudens is famous for his work on the nation’s coinage. Saint Gaudens was enlisted for the job by Theodore Roosevelt, who felt the nation needed beautiful coinage, a la Rome and Greece.

Saint Gaudens went to work, and today the Saint Gaudens coin is considered one of the most beautiful rare coins on the market.