Westinghouse's old rival Thomas Edison did not attend, but he did send a statement by mail, as did Andrew Mellon and President Herbert Hoover.

The bronze memorial was originally covered in gold leaf, which was added "so as to permanently give the monument an interesting surface which will be enhanced by the smoky atmosphere of the city.

At this point it was decided to remove the gold leaf entirely, which was paid for by the Westinghouse Air Brake Company and completed in December 1941.

[10] The memorial was restored again in 1984, including repairs to the American Youth sculpture, which had been toppled by vandals a few years earlier and subsequently removed for safekeeping.

[14] The 14-month, $2.7 million project included rebuilding and refilling the pond, replacing pathways, planting new vegetation, and improving storm water management around the site.

[17] The two side panels contain bas-relief images of Westinghouse's engineering accomplishments, including electrification of the New York, New Haven, and Hartford Railroad, the World's Columbian Exposition electrical system, and the Adams Power Plant at Niagara Falls.

Each of the six reliefs is supported by a pair of sculpted turtles and set in a rectangular opening above a granite plaque with descriptive text.

This includes the backdrop of oak leaves visible through the openings in each panel, which are revealed as a series of fully sculpted trees when viewed from the rear.

In his later years rightly called "The Greatest Living Engineer", George Westinghouse accomplished much of first importance to mankind through his ingenuity, persistence, courage, integrity and leadership.

By the invention of the air brake and of automatic signaling devices, he led the world in the development of appliances for the promotion of speed, safety and economy of transportation.

The statue depicts a school-aged boy holding a stack of books in one hand and a crumpled hat in the other as he contemplates the life and accomplishments of George Westinghouse.

Landscape elements, including a lily pond, paved walkways, and surrounding vegetation, form an integral part of the memorial design.

[4] The lily pond was constructed in 1896[19] and was originally fed by Phipps Run, one of the streams that supplies Panther Hollow Lake.

Eventually, the pond became damaged from storm runoff and was switched to a municipal water supply, while Phipps Run was diverted underground.