| Artist: | Henry Kreis and Albert Stewart |  |
| Title: | Fort Moore Pioneer Monument | |
| Date: | 1957 | |
| District: | First Supervisorial District | |
| Location: | Hill Street , between Temple and Cesar Chavez |
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| Designer: | Kazumi Adachi and Dike Nagano | |
| Department: | Internal Services Department | |
Fort Moore Pioneer Monument is located on the west side of Hill Street, just south of Cesar Chavez Avenue. This is a large-scale, site-specific monument is comprised of several elements: at far right is a 68’ h concrete pylon with a terra-cotta bas-relief eagle; in front of the pylon stands a flag pole as well as a low wall with four bas-relief scenes; in the center of the monument is a 80’ w brick façade, which in times past served as the backdrop for a waterfall; finally, at far left is a 78’ h x 43’ w terra-cotta bas-relief mural panel. |
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As a whole, the monument commemorates the actual site where a nineteenth century adobe fort once stood. The fort, constructed in 1847, was built by the troops of the Mormon Battalion who fought in the Mexican-American War. Although Fort Moore itself stood only until 1853, the Fort Moore Pioneer Monument is the only public art in Los Angeles portraying an historic event that occurred at the actual site of the work. Information provided courtesy of Michael Several, Los Angeles, 1998. See Albert Stewart, Foundations of the Law |
About the Artists: A Connecticut-based, German-born sculptor, Henry Kreis, designed the most notable feature of the monument: the large terra-cotta mural panel. Kreis’s highly stylized design depicts American troops raising the flag, and a series of flanking vignettes show regional scenes such as orange groves, cattle ranching, and water and power systems, to name a few. Kreis’s panels were fabricated by the legendary Gladding, McBean who produced innumerable architectural terra-cotta pieces since the 1930s. Albert Stewart (1900–1965) was born in London and emigrated to the U.S. as a child with his family. He studied at the Beaux Arts Institute and the Art Student’s League in New York City, and served as an assistant to sculptors Frederick MacMonnies and Paul Manship before he began sculpting in the 1930s. Stewart taught sculpture at Scripps College in Claremont for 25 years. Notable works include figures on the Scottish Rites Temple on Wilshire Boulevard and on the exterior of the Life Science Building at UCLA. |
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