Pioneer Monument, San Francisco, CA
1894 (Photograph 1978)
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The Pioneer Monument by Frank Happersberger and financed by James Lick was unveiled in San Francisco, California in 1894. The series of statues were created to honor miners, traders, cowboys, sailors and other pioneers who to California to find fortune and remained to settle.
The memorial consists of groups of bronze statuary in four piers surrounding a central base. A female allegorical California stands in the central pedestal. Two allegories and two tableauxs on the four piers represent Early Days, Plenty, In '49, and Commerce.
In 2018, following years of controversy and spurred on by recent events in Charlottesville, VA, the Early Days sculpture (partially obstructed here) was removed after the San Francisco's Board of Appeals due to its depictions of Native Americans. It depicted a missionary, a vaquero (or cowboy) and a Native American.
This photo and description of the Pioneer Monument in San Francisco, CA are part of materials from the San Francisco Civic Center Historic District registration form for the National Register of Historic Places.
This primary source comes from the Records of the National Park Service, 1785 - 2006.
Full Citation: Pioneer Monument, San Francisco, CA; 1894 (Photograph 1978); National Register of Historic Places and National Historic Landmarks Program Records: California; National Register of Historic Places and National Historic Landmarks Program Records, 2013 - 2017; Records of the National Park Service, 1785 - 2006, Record Group 79; National Archives at College Park, College Park, MD. [Online Version, https://docsteach.org/documents/document/pioneer-monument-san-francisco-ca, May 5, 2024]