Public Art and Architecture from Around the World

Union Square – Dewey Monument

Posted by Cindy on March 26, 2012

Mar 262012

Union Square * Most everyone that visits San Francisco sees this piece of public art. Two years before the Gold Rush, in 1847, Jasper O’Farrell, the first surveyor of San Francisco, created a design for the city, with Union Square as a public plaza. By the 1880s, it was a fashionable residential district, and in 1903, this towering monument was added. A monument to Admiral George Dewey’s victory at the Battle of Manila Bay during the Spanish American War. It also commemorates U.S. President William McKinley, who had been recently assassinated. The figurine at the top of the monument, “Winged Continue Reading

Union Square – Lamp Posts

Posted by Cindy on March 25, 2012

Mar 252012

Union Square * * * Union Square Collonade by Ron M. Fischer Union Square was built and dedicated by San Francisco’s first mayor, John Geary in 1850 and is so named for the pro-Union rallies that happened there before and during the United States Civil War. Since then, the plaza has undergone many notable changes with the first most significant change happening in 1903 with the dedication of a 97 ft tall monument to Admiral George Dewey’s victory at the Battle of Manila Bay during the Spanish American War. The second major significant change happened between 1939-1941 when a large Continue Reading

Civic Center – Hiro II

Posted by Cindy on March 24, 2012

Mar 242012

Civic Center San Francisco War Memorial Opera House Hiro II by Peter Voulkos * This piece is actually owned by the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, it was acquired in 1971. Peter Voulkos was born January 29, 1924, in Bozeman, Montana to Greek-born parents, Efrosine and Harry Voulkos, and died February 16, 2002 in Bowling Green, Ohio. He first studied painting and ceramics at Montana State University (then Montana State College) in Bozeman, then earned an MFA degree from the California College of the Arts. He began his career producing functional dinnerware. He is most known for his ceramic Continue Reading

Civic Center – Hall McAllister

Posted by Cindy on March 23, 2012

Mar 232012

Civic Center * Hall McAllister by Robert Ingersoll Aitken – Bronze – 1904 Outside the north wall of City Hall, on McAllister Street coincidentally, is the figure of pioneer attorney Hall McAllister. McAlllister served as first presiding judge of the Circuit Board of the Pacific States from 1855-1862. The pediment reads: HALL MCALLISTER Leader of the California Bar Learned Able Eloquent Fearless Advocate A Courteous Foe The artist, Robert Ingersall Aitken, was born in San Francisco, California in 1878. Robert Ingersoll Aitken studied at the Mark Hopkins Institute of Art, in San Francisco, with Douglas Tilden. From 1901 until 1904 Continue Reading

Civic Center – Abraham Lincoln

Posted by Cindy on March 22, 2012

Mar 222012

Civic Center Front of San Francisco City Hall * * Abraham Lincoln by Haig Patigian – 1926 This statue of Abraham Lincoln by Mr. Patigian replaced a statue by P. Mazarra of Lincoln destroyed in the 1906 earthquake.”Lincoln was dead! A period of national mourning swept the nation immediately after his assassination. During this time, Pietro Mezzara–who was listed in the San Francisco city directory as a cameo cutter and a sculptor–began working on a clay model of a large statue of Lincoln.The Mechanics Institute was soon going to host a fair, and so the Institute suggested that Mezzara cast the statue Continue Reading

Civic Center – Henry Moore

Posted by Cindy on March 21, 2012

Mar 212012

Civic Center Davies Symphony Hall Corner Van Ness and Grove Street * * Large Four Piece Reclining Figure by Henry Moore – 1973 – Bronze This piece, by Henry Moore, sits prominently in the Civic Center, and an easy one to see and enjoy by anyone that visits San Francisco. In the early 1970s Moore produced a group of monumental sculptures relying heavily on the curve or arc as its principal motif. This work exemplifies the trend, its complex semi-abstract composition and highly polished bronze patina making it a ‘difficult’ work to read. The hollows, voids and truncated elements do, Continue Reading

Mission District Composite Mural

Posted by Cindy on March 20, 2012

Mar 202012

Mission District Side of 161 Erie * * This wall began with nothing but a Banksy, it was just the center tree with bird. Apparently the neighborhood artists decided to run with the theme and added more all in one day. While Chor Boogie’s bird, that is identifiable, all other artists remain unknown. A blogger at Gone Tommorrow has a wonderful time lapse video of the “art day”.

Golden Gate Park – William McKinely

Posted by Cindy on March 18, 2012

Mar 182012

The Panhandle Baker Street Between Oak and Fell * * * * William McKinely by Robert Ingersoll Aitken The Panhandle is a park that forms a panhandle with Golden Gate Park. The Panhandle is near the geographic center of the city, and forms the southern boundary of the Western Addition neighborhood and the northern boundary of the Haight Ashbury. The McKinley statue stands at the beginning of the Panhandle as you enter into Golden Gate Park. William McKinley was the 25th President who died on September 14, 1901 after being shot by anarchist Leon Czolgosz. Just four months prior to Continue Reading

Lands End – Chinese Cemetery

Posted by Cindy on March 17, 2012

Mar 172012

Lincoln Park Golf Course Chinese Cemetery 1st and 13th Fairway * * * At the turn of the 20th century there were no municipal golf courses in San Francisco or, for that matter, in any of the surrounding communities. However by 1902 golf was fast gaining popularity, and many private golf and country clubs were starting. The general public, who did not have access or were unable to afford the country club setting for golfing recreation, began to press the City to set aside some public land to be groomed as a public golf course. In 1902 the parcel of Continue Reading

Golden Gate Park – Windmills

Posted by Cindy on March 16, 2012

Mar 162012

Golden Gate Park Windmills The North Windmill Queen Wilhelmina Park The Murphy Windmill The Murphy Windmill Today There are two windmills in Golden Gate Park that served a valuable purpose when they were built. When the park was first being developed the focus was on planting trees to stabilize the ocean dunes that covered three-quarters of the park’s area. The two windmills together pumped over 1 1/2 million gallons of water a day to help with this stabilization. In 1902, the park saw the completion of the Dutch windmill, or the North windmill. The design for the attraction came from Continue Reading

Kezar Stadium

Posted by Cindy on March 15, 2012

Mar 152012

Golden Gate Park Kezar Stadium * * * What it looked like originally Every San Francisco 49er faithful knows that this was the first home of the team. What they may not know is who played their first. An appropriation of $200,000 from the City of San Francisco and a $100,000 endowment by Mary Kezar in 1922 gave San Francisco Polytechnic School and San Francisco a football field. The stadium was designed by Willis Polk and built by contractor Palmer and McBride. Most stadiums are built from North to south so that a majority of the spectators don’t sit with Continue Reading

Golden Gate Park – Sharon Building

Posted by Cindy on March 14, 2012

Mar 142012

Golden Gate Park Sharon Building * * * * This delightful example of what some say is Victorian Romanesque architecture and others say is Richardsonian Romanesque, was designed by architects George Washington Percy and Frederick F. Hamilton. The building is the result of a $50,000 donation from silver baron, Nevada senator, and unscrupulous bank owner, William Sharon. The building and the intent of the donation, included a playground. The building was originally intended to give families with children a place to play indoors and have refreshments during inclement weather, it now houses the non-profit Sharon Art Studio, offering art classes in Continue Reading

Golden Gate Park – Verdi

Posted by Cindy on March 13, 2012

Mar 132012

Golden Gate Park Music Concourse * * * * Giuseppe Verdi by Orzio Grossoni March 23, 1914. The statue was dedicated to the sounds of the sweet voice of soprano Luisa Tetrazzini. She sang the aria from Aida to a reported audience of 20,000. The memorial was a gift of the Italian Community spearheaded by Ettore Patrizzi owner and publisher of San Francisco’s Italian newspaper L’Italia (published form 1887 to 1943). The subscription fund raised $15,000 for the statue and commissioned the work through a contest at the the Brera Academy of Fine Arts in Milan. The sculptor chosen was Continue Reading

Golden Gate Park – Robert Emmet

Posted by Cindy on March 12, 2012

Mar 122012

Golden Gate Park Music Concourse * Robert Emmet was an Irish nationalist and Republican, orator and rebel leader born in Dublin, Ireland. He led an abortive rebellion against British rule in 1798. In 1803 he was captured, tried and executed for high treason. The Emmet statue shows the 25 year old making his famous “Speech from the Dock” during his sentencing. The artist was Gerome Connor who created the bronze in 1916. The statue was a gift of Senator James Duval Phelan. The piece was cast by the Bureau Brothers Foundry of Philadelphia and the granite pedestal and platform were Continue Reading

Golden Gate Park – Beethoven

Posted by Cindy on March 11, 2012

Mar 112012

Golden Gate Park Music Concourse * * As a gift from the Beethoven Men’s Choir, the dedication of this statue coincided with the attendance of the Choir at the Pan Pacific International Exposition and a grand concert of Beethoven’s works held at the Civic Auditorium that evening (August 6, 1915). The monument, which was draped in American and German flags for the unveiling is a replica of the Henry Baerer work that stands in Central Park. The bronze copy was cast at the Henry-Bonnard Bronze Company of Mt. Vernon, NY. Heinrich Baerer was born in Kirchhain, Kurhessen, Germany, in 1837. Continue Reading

Golden Gate Park – Pioneer Woman

Posted by Cindy on March 10, 2012

Mar 102012

Golden Gate Park * * * * Pioneer Woman and Children Charles Grafly 1915 This is the only statue of a woman in Golden Gate Park. It is the 1914 work of Charles Grafly. It was featured at the PPIE (Panama-Pacific International Exposition) in 1915 and then again at the GGIE (Golden Gate International Exposition) in 1939. In 1940 it was placed in Golden Gate Park near the Pioneer Log Cabin which has been in the Park since 1911. A 1915 article about the sculpture when it was at the Pan-Pacific International Exposition: The “Pioneer Mother” monument, by Charles Grafly, Continue Reading

Golden Gate Park – Thomas Starr King

Posted by Cindy on March 9, 2012

Mar 092012

Golden Gate Park JFK Drive * Thomas Starr King – Bronze – 1892 – by Daniel Chester French This statue was unveiled by Thomas Starr King’s grandchildren on October 26, 1892. Thomas Starr King was born December 17, 1824 Mr. King was an American Unitarian and Universalist minister, influential in California politics during the American Civil War. Starr King spoke zealously in favor of the Union and was credited by Abraham Lincoln with preventing California from becoming a separate republic. He wrote a book about Yosemite National Park, where there is a peak named for him. He died of diphtheria Continue Reading

Golden Gate Park – John McClaren

Posted by Cindy on March 8, 2012

Mar 082012

Golden Gate Park Rhododendron Grove John McLaren, Supervisor of Golden Gate Park from 1890 until his death in 1943, detested statues. He hated them with such a passion that he defied the City authorities and persisted in his lifelong crusade to keep Golden Gate Park statue-free. It is fitting, then, that for his efforts McLaren was immortalized in the form of–what else? –a statue, which may be found near the entrance to the Rhododendron Dell that bears his name. Interestingly, the McLaren statue is placed at the very back of a hedged-off grassy space, far from the gaze of visitors. Continue Reading

Golden Gate Park – Father Junipero Serra

Posted by Cindy on March 7, 2012

Mar 072012

Golden Gate Park Father Junipero Serra by Douglas Tilden This is Father Junipero Serra, one of the most studied men in California history. Born November 24, 1713, Serra was a Majorcan Franciscan friar who founded the chain of missions that go from Mexico to San Francisco, California, he died August 28, 1784. Father Serra was such a vital part of California history, that every public school child in California learns of his life. The shrubbery has grown up to cover most of the friar but his base, designed by architect Edgar A. Mathews, reads Padre Junipero Serra – Founder Continue Reading

Golden Gate Park – Doughboy

Posted by Cindy on March 6, 2012

Mar 062012

Golden Gate Park JFK Drive Heroes Redwood Grove This grove is dedicated to the memory of the members of the San Francisco Parlors, Native sons of the Golden West who gave their lives in the World’s War I and II. The meadow adjacent to this grove and the Doughboy Statue with laurel wreath are easy to notice while passing by on JFK Drive, but the redwood grove itself is visited less often. The trees were planted in 1930 in honor of war casualties, and have since grown enough to create a dense, shady grove. The sculpture was by M. Continue Reading

Golden Gate Park – General Pershing

Posted by Cindy on March 5, 2012

Mar 052012

Golden Gate Park Music Concourse A tribute to General Pershing and the victorious armies of the United States and her co-belligerents during the World War 1914-1918 Presented by Dr. Morris Herzstein 1922 Bronze by Haig Patagian * Haig Patigian is noted for his classical works, which are especially numerous in public venues in San Francisco, California. Patigian was born in Van, Armenia, which at that time was under Turkish rule. Haig was the son of Avedis and Marine Patigian. His parents, teachers in a missionary school, wanted their two sons to find freedom in the growing United States. When Patigian’s Continue Reading

Golden Gate Park – Ulysses S. Grant

Posted by Cindy on March 4, 2012

Mar 042012

Golden Gate Park Music Concourse * Ulysses S. Grant by Rupert Schmid The pedestal of the bronze bust lists the principle battles of the generals’ command. It was sculpted by Rupert Schmid and funded by a citizens committee in 1904. (However, there are articles the say it was installed in 1894 and 1896). Schmid had modeled the General at Mount McGregor a few weeks before he died and that concluded in a monument at Grant’s Tomb in Riverside Park, New York. This was why Schmid was chosen. This is excerpted from “San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park: A Thousand and Seventeen Continue Reading

Golden Gate Park – Rideout Memorial Fountain

Posted by Cindy on March 3, 2012

Mar 032012

Golden Gate Park - Rideout Memorial Fountain

Golden Gate Park Music Concourse Rideout Memorial Fountain The Rideout Memorial Fountain – 1924 * This area was developed for the Midwinter Fair’s Grand Court of Honor. The grounds were sculpted from sand dunes by men using horse-drawn sleds. The fountain, dedicated in 1924, was made possible with a $10,000 gift from Corrine Rideout. Corrine Rideout was the widow of Norman Rideout, who died in a mining accident in 1896. Mr. Rideout’s father, also Norman, came from Maine to Oroville, California and opened a bank. He successfully opened five more in the central valley of California. After his death in Continue Reading

Golden Gate Park – Portals of the Past

Posted by Cindy on March 2, 2012

Mar 022012

Golden Gate Park Lloyd’s Lake This is the reservoir for the water pumped up its adjacent hill to Rainbow Falls. The water is circulated via the JFK Drive stream, and pours back into the lake in a cascade at its southwest corner. A trail entrance from Transverse Drive leads up the hill overlooking the water. The lake itself has a placid, dreamlike quality due in part to the stately presence of the Portals of the Past. It was also previously referred to as Mirror Lake. The Portals of the Past has always been one of those folly’s that seem so Continue Reading

Golden Gate Park – Stow Lake

Posted by Cindy on March 1, 2012

Mar 012012

Golden Gate Park Completed in 1893, Stow Lake is considered a landscaping masterpiece. Created out of sand dunes by park superintendant John McLaren, it is the largest of Golden Gate Park’s lakes. Massive holes were dug out of the sand, carloads of clay were wheeled in and windmills were built to draft water from natural wells. Strawberry Hill, the highest point in the park, became a central focus as an island in the middle of the lake. The Rustic Bridge and the Roman Bridge, both completed in 1893 and still standing, connect the lakeshore with the island, allowing visitors panoramic Continue Reading

Golden Gate Park – William D. McKinneon

Posted by Cindy on February 29, 2012

Feb 292012

Golden Gate Park * Chaplain William D. McKinneon First California US VOL INF 1898-99 Here is an excerpt from “San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park: A Thousand and Seventeen Acres of Stories” “William D. McKinnon taught at Santa Clara University and was chaplain with the First U.S. Volunteer Infantry during the Spanish-American War in the Philippines. This sculpture, created by D. John MacQuarrie was placed in the park on August 21, 1927, 15 years after it was cast at the Louis de Rome Memorial Bronze, Brass and Bell Foundry of Oakland. The donors, the Bay Area Spanish American War veterans and Continue Reading

Golden Gate Park – Cervantes

Posted by Cindy on February 28, 2012

Feb 282012

Golden Gate Park Music Concourse Museum Drive just off JFK Drive * * Miguel Cervantes Memorial by Jo Mora Bronze and Stone 1916 This work was presented to the City of San Francisco by J.C. Cebrian and E.J. Molera, September 3, 1916. It is so appealingly, Don Quijote and Sancho Panza looking up to their creator, the famous Spanish writer, Miguel Cervantes. Joseph Jacinto “Jo” Mora, was born October 22, 1876 in Uruguay and died October 10, 1947 in Monterey California. Jo Mora came to the United States as a child, studied art in the New York, and worked for Continue Reading

Golden Gate Park – Atop Rainbow Falls

Posted by Cindy on February 27, 2012

Feb 272012

Golden Gate Park Atop of Rainbow Falls Atop of Rainbow Falls is the Prayer Book Cross (also called Drake’s Cross). It is the tallest monument in the park at 64 feet with base. It is not easy to reach, and is well hidden by foliage. It was erected in Golden Gate Park in 1894 as a gift from the Church of England and was created by Ernest Coxhead. Made of sandstone, the cross commemorates the first use of the Book of Common Prayer in California by Sir Francis Drake’s chaplain on June 24, 1579. On Continue Reading

Golden Gate Park – Robert Burns

Posted by Cindy on February 26, 2012

Feb 262012

Golden Gate Park * * The Plaque reads:Robert Burns 1759-1796To a Mountain Daisy 1786 Wee, modest crimson-tipped flow’r, Thou’s met me in an evil hour; For I maun crush amang the stoure Thy slender stem: To spare thee now is past my pow’r, Thou bonie gem. This plaque donated by the Caledonian Club of San Francisco May 1979 A campaign to have a statue of Robert Burns in San Francisco was started by John McGilvray in 1905. The required cash was raised and Melvin Earl Cummings (whose grandparents were born in Scotland) was commissioned to produce the figure. Cummings modelled Continue Reading

Golden Gate Park – Turtle Sun Dial

Posted by Cindy on February 25, 2012

Feb 252012

Golden Gate Park In front of the de Young Museum * This sundial by Melvin Earl Cummings was named by the North American Sundial Society ‘Navigator’s Dial’ because on the dial face there are the images of three explorers of the California coastline. The memorial sun dial was given to San Francisco by the California members of the National Society of Colonial Dames, in honor of the first navigators who approached the Pacific coast. These pioneers were Fortun Jiminiez, who came to the coast in 1533; Juan Rodriquez Cabrillo, 1542, and Sir Francis Drake, 1575. The base of the dial Continue Reading

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