"Extending a cultural fight that started years ago, Caltrans has quietly demolished a statue of 18th century missionary and Catholic saint Junipero Serra that had overlooked Interstate 280 in Hillsborough for 50 years - perhaps pleasing some who had questioned Serra's legacy, even as the move enraged his supporters in the church. The artwork's construction - built half a century ago, using rebar sprayed with a powdered form of concrete - meant that it could not easily be moved to another site,"
"Standing at 26 feet tall, the larger-than-life Serra was dressed in a monk's robe with a cowl falling onto his shoulders as he overlooked commuters trekking across the Peninsula. The statue had the names and founding dates of several missions carved onto its base; Serra established the first nine of 21 missions across California as he traveled north from Baja California with a band of conquistadors from Spain. The Junipero Serra statue was built out of steel and concrete by artist Louis DuBois in 1975."
Caltrans demolished a 26-foot Junipero Serra statue that had stood at the Crystal Springs rest stop in Hillsborough. The statue was built in 1975 of steel and concrete by artist Louis DuBois and bore names and founding dates of several California missions; Serra founded the first nine of 21 missions. The artwork's rebar-and-powdered-concrete construction made relocation impractical, officials said, and the statue did not meet current Transportation Art Program requirements. The statue had been frequently vandalized, and Caltrans removed it in August. There are no current plans to replace the sculpture. Protests and removals of Serra statues occurred in 2020.
Read at The Mercury News
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