The history of San Francisco's version of the Statue of Liberty, and how it disappeared, is discussed in this episode of 99% Invisible, a new radio segment from KALW.
"At the top of Mt. Olympus in San Francisco, on what was once thought to be the geographic center of the city, is a pedestal for a statue that isn't there. There's no marker. You can just make out the word "erected" on the stone surface, but there's nothing that lets anyone know that this was once the site of San Francisco's own (much, much smaller) statue of liberty and light. It is now surrounded by 1950's condos, and even though it offers some of the best views of the city, I've only met two people who have even heard of it (and I asked around a lot)."
99% Invisible's Roman Mars visits the site of the statue and explores why it's no longer there and why nobody seems to care.
FULL STORY: 99% Forgotten
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City of Albany
UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
City of Piedmont, CA
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research