A statue of

Junípero Serra Junípero Serra y Ferrer (; ; ca, Juníper Serra i Ferrer; November 24, 1713August 28, 1784) was a Spanish Roman Catholic priest and missionary of the Franciscan Order. He is credited with establishing the Franciscan Missions in the Sierr ...

(sometimes called ''Father Junipero Serra'' or ''Fra Junipero Serra'') was installed in a portion of

El Pueblo de Los Ángeles Historical Monument El Pueblo de Los Ángeles Historical Monument, also known as Los Angeles Plaza Historic District and formerly known as El Pueblo de Los Ángeles State Historic Park, is a historic district taking in the oldest section of Los Angeles, known for man ...

informally known as Father Serra Park in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

Description

Located between the

Santa Ana Freeway The Santa Ana Freeway is one of the principal freeways in Southern California, connecting Los Angeles and its southeastern suburbs including the freeway's namesake, the city of Santa Ana. The freeway begins at its junction with the San Diego Free ...

and the city's Chinatown district, the

bronze sculpture Bronze is the most popular metal for Casting (metalworking), cast metal sculptures; a cast bronze sculpture is often called simply "a bronze". It can be used for statues, singly or in groups, reliefs, and small statuettes and figurines, as w ...

, a replica of the one completed by

Ettore Cadorin Ettore Cadorin (March 1, 1876June 18, 1952) was an American sculptor and teacher born in Venice. His father Vincenzo Cadorin was a woodcarver and his first teacher. He went on to study at the Academy of Fine Arts in Venice where he studied with ...

for the

National Statuary Hall Collection The National Statuary Hall Collection in the United States Capitol is composed of statues donated by individual states to honor persons notable in their history. Limited to two statues per state, the collection was originally set up in the old ...

in 1930, measures approximately 8' 9" × 2' 2" × 2' 4", and rests on a concrete base that measures approximately 5' 8" × 3' 8" × 3' 8".

History

The memorial was installed in 1932. Some 4,000 people came for the occasion. The artwork was surveyed by the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...

's "

Save Outdoor Sculpture! Save Outdoor Sculpture! (SOS!) was a community-based effort to identify, document, and conserve outdoor sculpture in the United States. The program was initiated in 1989 and ended in 1999. History Save Outdoor Sculpture! was initiated by Herit ...

" program in 1994.

Removal

The statue was toppled by a group consisting of members from the

Tongva The Tongva ( ) are an Indigenous people of California from the Los Angeles Basin and the Southern Channel Islands, an area covering approximately . Some descendants of the people prefer Kizh as an endonym that, they argue, is more historically ...

and

Tataviam The Tataviam (Kitanemuk: ''people on the south slope'') are a Native American group in Southern California. The ancestral land of the Tataviam people includes northwest present-day Los Angeles County and southern Ventura County, primarily in th ...

Tribal Nations and Native/Indigenous activists in solidarity with the

George Floyd protests The George Floyd protests were a series of protests and civil unrest against police brutality and racism that began in Minneapolis on May 26, 2020, and largely took place during 2020. The civil unrest and protests began as part of internat ...

in June 2020. The City of Los Angeles deemed the removal an act of civil disobedience. On June 30, 2020, the city introduced a motion to address controversial statues, plaques and other symbolic honorifics. The park will be renamed by the Board of Recreation and Parks Commissioners in collaboration with local tribal communities.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Junípero Serra 1932 establishments in California 1932 sculptures Bronze sculptures in California Monuments and memorials in California Monuments and memorials removed during the George Floyd protests Outdoor sculptures in Greater Los Angeles Sculptures of men in California Statues in California

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

Statues removed in 2020 Vandalized works of art in California

Description

History

Removal

See also

References

External links