The efforts of the original engineers in the construction of this sculpture were extraordinarily praiseworthy. Today the column is a heavily tarnished, tawny brown. From the carbon-steel interior of the column, large handfuls of rust can be grasped from an inspection hole near the ground. The preservation of the column and its artistic integrity have been neglected and the routine maintenance so essential for the structure's survival has not been carried out. The sculpture has suffered political abuse as well.
Accounts also vary as to how much damage was caused by the demolition effort.
Cracking of the concrete foundations is visible at the base of the sculpture. Most of us would not be happy allowing this work to rust away in a Ruskin-like acceptance of the death of the art, leaving us only with its legend. Most conservation professionals would agree that preservation or restoration of the column is viable, although it is not conservable in the same sense that an outdoor bronze normally would be. There is no path of minimum intervention for the Infinite Column. Either an attempt at restoration is made or the work decays.