Dewey Monument - San Francisco, CA
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N 37° 47.275 W 122° 24.451
10S E 552168 N 4182449
The Dewey Monument is a memorial statue in San Francisco, California, located at the center of Union Square.
Waymark Code: WMW3TQ
Location: California, United States
Date Posted: 07/06/2017
Views: 4
The monument is dedicated to Admiral George Dewey and commemorates his victory in the Battle of Manila Bay during the Spanish-American War. On May 23, 1901, President President William McKinley visited San Francisco to break ground for the monument. Six months later McKinley was assassinated and was succeeded by his vice president, Theodore Roosevelt. On May 14, 1903, Roosevelt officially dedicated the monument, which "commemorates the victory of Admiral George Dewey and the American fleet over Spanish forces at Manila Bay, the Philippines, on May 1, 1898, during the Spanish-American War" and also is a tribute to the sailors of the United States Navy.
Robert Ingersoll Aitken was hired to sculpt a 9-foot (2.7 m) statue representing Nike, the ancient Greek Goddess of Victory in honor of McKinley and Dewey. The statue holds a trident that represents Dewey and a wreath that represents McKinley. Aitken hired Alma de Bretteville Spreckels to model for the statue.
Architect Newton Tharp designed the base and column within a budget of $45,000. The column, over 5 ft (1.5 m) in diameter and over 85 ft (25.9 m) in height, was assembled from individual blocks weighing 40,000 lb (18,144 kg). Timbers over 100 ft (30.5 m) long were shipped from Oregon to support the block and tackle system used to construct the monument. The column stands on a square base with inscriptions on each side.
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