Statue of Junípero Serra (Los Angeles)


A statue of Junípero Serra was installed in Father Serra Park, a park in Los Angeles, California between the Santa Ana Freeway and the city's Chinatown district.

Description

The bronze sculpture of Junípero Serra, a replica of the one completed by Ettore Cadorin for the National Statuary Hall Collection 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.
The artwork was surveyed by the Smithsonian Institution's "Save Outdoor Sculpture!" program in 1994.

Removal

The statue was toppled by a group consisting of members from the Tongva and Tataviam Tribal Nations and Native/Indigenous activists in solidarity with the George Floyd protests 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.