Juan Cabrillo National Monument - San Diego, CA - Maritime Monuments and Memorials on Waymarking.com

The statue is a 1988 replica of a 1939 original by Alvaro de Bree. The Smithsonian Inventory (visit link) lists the medium as "stone or concrete". It also adds the text of one of the plaques at the base:

"Text on nearby plaque reads: MAO/NAVE GADOR/PORTUGUES/JAOO RODRIGUES CABRILLO 1542/HOMENA-GEN/OA FMARINHA D'GUERRA PORTUGUESA/TO THE PORTUGUESE NAVIGATOR JAAO RODRIGUES CABRILLO A TRIBUTE FROM THE PORTUGESE NAVY N.R.P. DIOGO CAO N.R.P. CORTE/APRIL 1957 A.D. HOMENAGEM DE MARINHA DE GUERRA PORTUGUESA AO NAVEGADOR PORTUGUES POR OCASIAO DA REDEDICACAO DE ESTATUA EM SUA HONCA NRP J0AO COUTINHO/A TRIBUTE FROM THE PORTUGUESE NAVY TO THE PORTUGUESE NAVIGATOR ON THE OCCASION OF THE REDEDICATION OF THE STATUE IN HIS HONOR."

Wikipedia (visit link) informs us:

"Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo (Portuguese: João Rodrigues Cabrilho; born 1499, died January 3, 1543) was a navigator and explorer, known for exploring the West Coast of North America on behalf of the Spanish Empire. Cabrillo was the first European explorer to navigate the coast of present-day California in the United States...

Namesakes and commemorations


Plaque honoring Cabrillo, placed at Cabrillo National Monument in 1935 by the Portuguese ambassador to the United States
His discoveries went largely unnoticed at the time, so none of his place names were permanently adopted. Despite this, Cabrillo is now remembered as the first European to travel the California coast, and many parks, schools, buildings and streets in California bear his name.

Most notably, the National Park Service operates Cabrillo National Monument, overlooking the bay from Point Loma in San Diego, commemorating his first landing in California and offering views of San Diego and the Pacific Ocean. The monument features a larger-than-life statue of Cabrillo, donated by the government of Portugal, as well as a plaque honoring him donated in 1935 by the Portuguese ambassador to the United States. A museum in the park focuses on Cabrillo and his voyages of discovery. Every September the Cabrillo Festival Inc. hosts the Cabrillo Festival, an annual three-day celebration of his discovery of San Diego Bay, including a re-enactment of his landing at Ballast Point.

In the state of California, September 28 is officially "Cabrillo Day"."

Also see the Wikipedia page for the National Monument surrounding this statue at (visit link)

Relevent website: [Web Link] List if there are any visiting hours: daily 9 to 5 Entrance fees (if any): free Date dedicated: 01/01/1988 Sponsor(s): National Parks Service Parking coordinates: Not Listed

Visit Instructions:
Please submit at least one photo taken by you of your visit to the location (non-copyrighted photos only). Photos of yourself are preferred, but GPS photos are also accepted with the location in the background. Old vacation photos are also allowed. If you are not able to provide a photo, then please describe your visit or give a story about the visit. Please list anything that has changed since the waymark was created.

When taking photos at the memorials in this category, please keep in mind the nature of the location and do not post "goofy" or disrespectful pictures.

Recent Visits/Logs:

Date Logged Log User Rating   02/03/2023 shell1fish visited it 02/25/2022 Don.Morfe visited it 03/18/2018 bluesnote visited it 07/05/2016 Awesnap visited it 11/03/2015 Metro2 visited it

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