RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — As Virginia’s Department of General Services prepares for the removal of the Robert E. Lee Monument from Richmond’s Monument Avenue, take a look back at the statue over the years.

The Lee statue in Richmond during the early 20th century The Robert E. Lee monument being installed in Richmond (Photo courtesy of The Valentine)
The unveiling of the Robert E. Lee statue in Richmond in 1890 (Photo courtesy of The Valentine)
The Robert E. Lee monument being installed in Richmond (Photo courtesy of The Valentine)
America Protests Confederate Monuments
The statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee is seen on Monument Avenue in Richmond, Va., Sunday, June 7, 2020, following a week of unrest in the U.S. against police brutality and racism in policing. Gov. Ralph Northam has ordered the removal of the statue. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
FILE – In this July 31, 2017 file photo, the sun sets behind the statue of confederate General Robert E. Lee on Monument Avenue in Richmond, Va. Attorneys will be back in court Thursday, July 23, 2020, for a hearing in a lawsuit challenging Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam’s plan to remove a giant Confederate statue in Virginia’s capital city.(AP Photo/Steve Helber)
Racial Injustice Lee Statue
FILE -This Tuesday June 2, 2020 file photo shows a large group of protesters gather around the statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee on Monument Avenue near downtown in Richmond, Va. When the bronze equestrian statue of Gen. Robert E. Lee arrived by rail in Richmond from Paris in 1890, it took 10,000 men, women and children to haul its pieces more than a mile to the site where the towering monument was erected as a tribute to a Confederate hero. Now, 130 years later, the challenges of removing the statue are more related to the intricate logistics of disassembling and transporting it to a storage facility, as well as ensuring worker safety amid heated public debate about Southern heritage versus racism.Avenue. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)
Robert E. Lee monument
Hundreds of people in Richmond gather around the Robert E, Lee monument on June 3, 2020. (Photo: 8News Reporter Talya Cunningham)
Robert E. Lee Monument in Richmond, Virginia
Demonstrators at the Robert E. Lee Monument in Richmond, Virginia, on Wednesday, Jun. 3, 2020. Protestors graffitied the monument in recent days and on Wednesday evening, an image of George Floyd and the phrases, “No justice, no peace” and “BLM” were projected onto the monument. (Photo: Jordan Vance)
Richmond dancers come together at the Robert E. Lee monument 2
Richmond dancers come together at the Robert E. Lee monument on June 5, 2020, after Northam’s announcement to take it down as soon as possible. (Kennedy George on the left, Ava Holloway on the right. (Photo: Marcus Ingram)
Robert E. Lee
The Moon illuminates the statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee on Monument Avenue Friday June 5, 2020, in Richmond, Va. Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam has ordered the removal of the statue. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)
America Protests Confederate Monuments
An inspection crew from the Virginia Department of General Services takes measurements as they inspect the statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee on Monument Avenue Monday June 8, 2020, in Richmond, Va. Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam has ordered the removal of the statue. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)
Confederate Monuments Richmond
An inspection crew from the Virginia Department of General Services inspect the statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee on Monument Avenue Monday June. 8, 2020, in Richmond, Va. Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam has ordered the removal of the statue. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)
Isaiah Bowen, right, takes a shot as his dad, Garth Bowen, center, looks on at a basketball hoop in front of the statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee on Monument Avenue
Isaiah Bowen, right, takes a shot as his dad, Garth Bowen, center, looks on at a basketball hoop in front of the statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee on Monument Avenue on Sunday, Jun. 21, 2020, in Richmond, Va.
(AP Photo/Steve Helber)
As the judge issued her ruling, a group of area faith leaders pushing for an end to police brutality gathered near the Robert E. Lee statue on Monument Avenue. (Photo: 8News)
Workers for The Virginia Department of General Services install concrete barriers around the statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee on Monument Avenue Wednesday, June 17, 2020, in Richmond, Va. The barriers are intended to protect the safety of demonstrators as well as the structure itself. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)
Robert E. Lee statue in Richmond on Jul. 28, 2020. (Photo Emma North 8News)
Signs hanging on Monument Avenue to remind people of firearms restrictions. (Photo by 8News Photographer Quincy Tucker)
Robert E. Lee monument
The Department of General Services is installing a fence around the Robert E. Lee monument on Monday, January 25 in preparation for the statue’s removal. (Photo: 8News Reporter Delaney Hall)
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