The Sam Houston Monument is an outdoor

bronze sculpture Bronze is the most popular metal for cast metal sculptures; a cast bronze sculpture is often called simply "a bronze". It can be used for statues, singly or in groups, reliefs, and small statuettes and figurines, as well as bronze elemen ...

Sam Houston Samuel Houston (, ; March 2, 1793 – July 26, 1863) was an American general and statesman who played an important role in the Texas Revolution. He served as the first and third president of the Republic of Texas and was one of the first two i ...

Enrico Cerracchio Enrico Cerracchio (March 14, 1880 – March 20, 1956) was an Italian-born American sculptor and painter. He designed many statues, including the 1925 Sam Houston Monument in Houston, Texas. Early life Cerracchio was born on March 14, 1880, i ...

, installed at the northwest corner of

Houston Houston (; ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in Texas, the Southern United States#Major cities, most populous city in the Southern United States, the List of United States cities by population, fourth-most pop ...

Hermann Park Hermann Park is a urban park in Houston, Texas, situated at the southern end of the Museum District. The park is located immediately north of the Texas Medical Center and Brays Bayou, east of Rice University, and slightly west of the Third ...

, in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

. The work is administered by the City of Houston's Municipal Arts Commission.

Description

The monument was constructed by Enrico Cerracchio in 1924 and dedicated on August 16, 1925. Modeled on Stephen Seymour Thomas' painting, ''General Sam Houston at San Jacinto'''','' the

equestrian statue An equestrian statue is a statue of a rider mounted on a horse, from the Latin ''eques'', meaning ' knight', deriving from ''equus'', meaning 'horse'. A statue of a riderless horse is strictly an equine statue. A full-sized equestrian statue is ...

depicts

atop his horse, wearing military attire and a long cape. He has a beard and points with his right arm. The

measures approximately x x , and is set on a gray granite

arch An arch is a vertical curved structure that spans an elevated space and may or may not support the weight above it, or in case of a horizontal arch like an arch dam, the hydrostatic pressure against it. Arches may be synonymous with vau ...

fabricated by

Frank Teich Frank Teich (September 22, 1856 – January 27, 1939) was a German-born American sculptor, stone carver, and businessman, often referred to as the father of the Texas granite industry. Early life and education Teich was born on September 22, ...

that measures approximately x x with a Lone Star on its

keystone Keystone or key-stone or ''variation'', may refer to: * Keystone (architecture), a central stone or other piece at the apex of an arch or vault * Keystone (cask), a fitting used in ale casks Business * Keystone Law, a full-service law firm * D ...

. It is administered by the City of Houston's Municipal Arts Commission.

Origins

A monument circle in the statue's current location was proposed by landscape architect

George Kessler George Edward Kessler (July 16, 1862 – March 20, 1923) was an American pioneer city planner and landscape architect. Over the course of his forty-one year career, George E. Kessler completed over 200 projects and prepared plans for 26 comm ...

in his 1916 plan for Hermann Park. As early as 1917, the Houston Chronicle was gathering money to build one for Sam Houston. Fabrication required $75,000, of which $40,000 was collected by the Women's City Club, $10,000 was provided by city government, and $25,000 was provided by state government. Potential designs were collected after advertising the project in national magazines. Entries were then displayed in a three night exhibition in the

Humble Oil Building The Humble Oil Building, is a historic office building, designed in the Italian Renaissance architecture style, located at 1212 Main Street in Houston, Texas and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It was constructed by Humble ...

. The competition was judged by a panel of notable Houstonians, who selected Cerracchio's design. On August 16, 1925, the monument was unveiled by Sam Houston's great-granddaughter and dedicated by

John Henry Kirby John Henry Kirby (November 16, 1860 – November 9, 1940) was a businessman whose ventures made him the largest lumber manufacturer in Texas and the Southern United States. In addition to serving two terms in the Texas Legislature, he also est ...

. At the time, three of the Sam Houston's own children were alive, and he was still remembered by many elderly Texans.

Restoration

The monument's condition was deemed "treatment urgent" by the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...

's "

Save Outdoor Sculpture! Save Outdoor Sculpture! (SOS!) was a community-based effort to identify, document, and conserve outdoor sculpture in the United States. The program was initiated in 1989 and ended in 1999. History Save Outdoor Sculpture! was initiated by Herit ...

" program in March 1993. In 1997, the monument was adopted by

Bunker Hill Elementary A bunker is a defensive military fortification designed to protect people and valued materials from falling bombs, artillery, or other attacks. Bunkers are almost always underground, in contrast to blockhouses which are mostly above ground. T ...

's 5th grade. In 2006, the statue underwent an $18,000 restoration funded entirely by the students. As of 2009, 5th grade students at Bunker Hill Elementary and their corporate sponsors had raised money for the monument each year since 1993 and donated a total of more than $71,000 to the Houston Arts Foundation for its care.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Houston, Sam 1925 establishments in Texas 1925 sculptures Bronze sculptures in Texas Equestrian statues in Texas Hermann Park Monuments and memorials in Texas Outdoor sculptures in Houston Sculptures of men in Texas Statues in Houston Houston, Sam

Description

Origins

Restoration

See also

References

External links