The Rialto Civic Center campus will soon feature a veterans monument. Already home to the city’s library and council chambers, the campus will soon be adorned with 8-foot-tall granite monoliths north of the fire station, just beyond the shade of the library’s towering pines. Approved by the Council on April 14, the $135,000 contract with the Cold Spring Granite Company initiates Rialto’s stone homage to its military service members.
Originated by the Rialto Veterans Committee, the project includes three large monoliths arranged semi-triangularly, with a fourth, smaller one etched with the history of the city, its veterans and their contributions. For visitors, the installation features two semi-circular benches enclosed by a brick walkway leading to the intersection at Willow Ave and W. First St., inviting passersby to rest and reflect.
Mayor Joe Baca Sr., an Army veteran and former paratrooper, said the installation is meant to honor those who served “in time of peace and in time of war,” adding that the freedoms Americans enjoy are rooted in that service. He noted that the project reflects years of effort to expand support for veterans locally.
For Councilmember Edward Montoya Jr., who comes from a family of veterans and served 17 years in the Army, the monument carries personal significance…