ST. LOUIS (AP) -- A Confederate monument will be removed by Friday from a St. Louis park under a deal between the city and the Missouri Civil War Museum.
As part of the agreement announced Monday by the city, the museum will pay for the removal of the 38-foot-tall granite monument and store it until a new permanent site can be found.
The monument has been the target of protesters on both sides of the issue of whether such displays belong in public facilities.
The city says the new location must be a Civil War museum, battlefield or cemetery.
As part of the settlement, the Civil War Museum has agreed that the monument will be stored at their expense until a permanent location is found. That permanent location must be at a Civil War museum, battlefield or cemetery. Further, the Civil War Museum has agreed that the monument will not be displayed or located in the City of St. Louis or in St. Louis County.
"This issue has played out for far too long," Mayor Lyda Krewson said. "This settlement agreement is the best way to move forward and put this issue behind us."
The announcement of the deal comes a week after a St. Louis judge issued a temporary injunction that barred the city from removing the monument, pending a July 6 hearing over who owns it.
The injunction followed a lawsuit filed against the city by the museum, which claimed ownership of the monument.
