The monument consists of a large female figure of Minerva or Athena, the goddess of wisdom and war, representing California on a column with four bronze reliefs representing "Crossing the Sierra," "Vaqueros Lassoing a Bull, "Trapper Trading Skins with Indians," and "California's Progress under American Rule", as well as portrait medallions of important personages in California's past, Sir Francis Drake, John Sutter, John Fremont, Father Junipero Serra, and the monument's benefactor, James Lick. There are four piers surrounding the base of the column, supporting sculptures. Two are female figures allegorically representing Commerce and Plenty, and two are groupings of three figures each. One of these is titled "In '49'", commemorating the California Gold Rush, containing three gold miners. The other, which was entitled "Early Days" and contained a missionary, a Native American, and a vaquero, was removed in September 2018 due to complaints that it was dehumanizing to Native Americans.
History
The trustees of the Lick estate were tasked with implementing the thirteenth clause of the Lick trust which read as follows: In September 1890, the Trustees selected the a model by sculptor Frank Happersberger from a field of four artist submissions. Ground was broken in May 1894 at San Francisco City Hall. The cornerstone of the monument was laid and statuary dedicated on Monday, September 10, 1894 by the Lick Trustees, Society of California Pioneers and Native Sons of the Golden West at Marshall Square, near the intersection of Hyde and Grove, in front of the Old City Hall.
In 1991, a plan was introduced to move the statue to make way for a new public library. At the time, the statue was surrounded by a parking lot, seedy pornographic theaters and fast-food restaurants along Market Street. This plan generated controversy between preservationists, who wanted the statue to remain in place to mark the site of Old City Hall, and Native American protestors who wanted the statue removed entirely. The Native American protestors criticized the Early Days sculpture for depicting their people as subservient, for celebrating their subjugation, and for factual inaccuracy—it depicts a Plains Indian none of whom lived near what would become San Francisco. Early Days was removed on 14 September 2018, in early morning darkness. In 1991, twenty heavy-duty steel carrying beams were used to transport the statue one block and place it in the middle of Fulton Street, where it currently stands between the old and new libraries and across a park from the City Hall. A brass plaque was added to the statue in 1996 to explain the role of Native Americans in California.
