Public Sculpture and Murals in Downtown Los Angeles,
many from Bunker Hill and the closely surrounding area.

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The Banner below leads to the LA Architecture and Public Art Collection (6 Galleries).

These six galleries contain 250 images of LA Architecture and Public Art.

Alchemy of Human Spirit Zapponi 0651

Created by Michael Zapponi in 1999 from cast bronze and stainless steel,
“Alchemy of the Human Spirit” is located at the YMCA near the Bunker Hill skyscrapers
which form a background in this image. It depicts a gymnast doing a walkover on Balance Beam.

Alchemy of Human Spirit Zapponi 0759

Alchemy of Human Spirit Zapponi 0761

Alchemy of Human Spirit Zapponi 0764

Alchemy of Human Spirit Zapponi 9653

Baby Holding Globe New World Otterness 9719

Part of a series of sculptures and friezes called “The New World” by Tom Otterness (1991),
which extends across the entire Federal Center Plaza. It caused a tremendous controversy.

Beethoven Pershing Square 0172

Bell Communications Around the Globe 0776

Created by Anthony Heinsbergen in 1961, the
mosaic is on the SBC Building on Bunker Hill.
A central figure is holding underwater cables in
one hand and a satellite transmitter in the other.
A radio beam travels up to Echo 1, the first Bell
satellite, and is relayed to a receiver in Russia.

This was cutting-edge avante-garde in 1961.

Beethoven (left), erected in 1932 as a memorial statue
to William Andrews Clark, whose philanthropy helped
to create the LA Philharmonic Orchestra in 1919.

Calle de la Eternidad Poethig 0760

Calle de la Eternidad (Street of Eternity) is a
mural by Johanna Poethig (1993) on the front
of a building on Broadway, below Bunker Hill .

Calle de la Eternidad Poethig HS8608

It contains several symbols and artifacts from the
ancient Americas, including the hands and arms
in the style of pre-Columbian Chimu metalwork.

Caryatids 0693

Bronze Caryatids supporting an Art-Deco lamp in downtown LA.

Challenger Memorial Little Tokyo 4203

Built to commemorate the explosion of the Shuttle Challenger (1986) by Isao Hirai in 1990, the
monument serves as a memorial to Ellison S. Onizuka, the first Japanese American astronaut.
The sculpture is a 1/10th scale model of the Challenger as it appeared on the final flight.

Fountain Figure I Graham Wells Fargo 1780

Mounted in Wells Fargo Court are four sculptures by the famed LA artist Robert Graham. Three of his sculptures are shown here (another is further down the page).

Fountain Figure III Graham Wells Fargo 1786

Robert Graham was renowned for realistic bronze sculptures of the nude female figure. Graham’s Figure II (not displayed here) shows a nude gymnast vaulting a horse.

Fountain Figure IV Graham Wells Fargo 1790

Among the numerous public sculptures Robert Graham produced was “Prologue”,
the Franklin Delano Roosevelt wheelchair sculpture, FDR Memorial, Washington DC.

The Banner below leads to the LA Architecture and Public Art Collection (6 Galleries).

These six galleries contain 250 images of LA Architecture and Public Art.

Four Arches Calder
Arco Bonaventure HS8578

Created by Alexander Calder in 1975 to grace
the first office tower constructed on Bunker Hill.

Four Arches Library Tower 0184

It is a distinctive landmark in the area, and
creates an interesting frame for the buildings.

Handstand Hebald YMCA 0657

Sculpted by Milton Hebald in 1986 for the YMCA,
“Handstand” is elevated on a 10’ high pedestal.

Handstand Hebald YMCA 9662

The sculpture forms the letter ”Y” and serves
as a highly dynamic emblem for the YMCA.

Lincoln Robert Gage 0516

The sculpture of Abraham Lincoln by Robert Merrell Gage (1961) at 1st and Grand,
surveying the Disney Concert Hall across the street in abject wonder. Unveiled in 1989.

Mind Body Spirit Graetz YMCA 0763

Mind, Body and Spirit was created by
Gideon Graetz in 1986 for the YMCA.

Mind Body Spirit Graetz Mellon Bank 0652

Made from forged stainless steel and bronze
the sculpture can actually be rotated on its base.

Mind Body Spirit Graetz Bonaventure 1804

Molecule Man Borofsky Roybal Federal Bldg 9717

Created by Jonathan Borofsky in 1991 at the
Roybal Federal Building. The holes are intended
to remind the viewer that we are mostly water.

Ulysses Lieberman Mellon Bank 0660

Created by Anthony Lieberman in 1988 to
replace the original sculpture on the site, Ulysses
is an unusually energetic piece of corporate art.

Source Figure Graham Bunker Hill 0648

Source Figure Graham Bunker Hill 0655

Atop the steps leading from the Bunker Hill skyscrapers to the Central Library is
Robert Graham’s Masterwork, “Source Figure” (1991). One of few sculptures of a
minority woman in Los Angeles, it is widely considered to be Graham’s best work.

Source Figure Graham Bunker Hill 0660

Robert Graham also created the wheelchair sculpture of Franklin Delano Roosevelt
at the FDR Memorial in Washington DC, as well as the Bronze Doors and Virgin Mary
for the entrance to the Cathedral of Our Lady of Angels (see the LA Architecture page).
Graham also created Memorials to Joe Louis, Duke Ellington and Charlie “Bird” Parker.

Source Figure Graham Bunker Hill 1793

Source Figure Graham Bunker Hill 1800

His studies of the female nude and their distinctively realistic quality made him famous,
 but they were not his only artistic style. He was a well-respected artist in other subjects.

Source Figure Graham Bunker Hill 0645

Source Figure Graham Bunker Hill 0662

Graham died in 2008, a few days after his induction into the
California Hall of Fame by Governor Arnold Schwartzenegger.

Sun Yat-sen 9751

Erected in Chinatown’s Central Plaza in 1966
to commemorate Sun Yat-sen’s 100th birthday.

Dr. Sun Yat-sen was a major figure in
the creation of the Republic of China.

Hop Louie Mandarin 9731

The Mandarin sculpture in front of Hop Louie Restaurant
in Chinatown. Formerly the Golden Pagoda, Hop Louie’s
five-story pagoda (1941) dominates the Chinatown skyline.

Decent food, a great bar, Hop Louie is a cultural artifact.

Victor Clothing Pope of Broadway 0545

60’ x 70’ mural on the south wall of Victor Clothing, painted by Eloy Torrez in 1985,
 depicting the actor Anthony Quinn, who grew up in East LA and was a much beloved
figure in the Hispanic community. The position is reminiscent of Zorba the Greek.

The Banner below leads to the LA Architecture and Public Art Collection (6 Galleries).

These six galleries contain 250 images of LA Architecture and Public Art.

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