Sep 052013
San Francisco Presidio
Lombard Gate Entryway
Lombard and Lyon
These beautiful Colusa Sandstone Gates greet you as you enter the Presidio on Lombard Street. Just like the gates at the Arguello Entrance, they were restored recently by Oleg Lobykin.
The four piers each have four carvings on top . Facing outward on each of the columns on the roadway is the bald eagle emblem of the United States of America. Twin Goddess of Victory carvings face each other across the roadway. The piers at the pedestrian walkway bear emblems of various branches of the Army – Corps of Engineers, crossed swords for cavalry, cross rifles for infantry, cannons with cannon balls for field artillery.
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According to the Presidio’s website:
In 2009, with a grant from the S.H. Cowell Foundation, repair work began on the traditional entrance to the Presidio – the Lombard Gate. Built around the same time as the Arguello Gate, Lombard was restored to a more vintage appearance.
Interestingly, a mystery remains. Like at the Arguello Gate, the “winged angel of victory” carved into one of the gate’s capstones was left unfinished. “We still don’t know what she’s holding in her hand,” explains Christiana Wallace, Presidio Trust conservator. “We never re-created it at the Arguello Gate and we won’t re-create it here because we don’t have any good evidence of what it looked like. If we are able to figure out what it is, then we’ll have it resculpted.”
Nicely restored! With a bit of Victory mystery.