Interstate 280 is one of the biggest and most important motorways in the Bay Area, running from San Jose through the center of the San Francisco Peninsula and into the heart of the Golden City itself. The road has often been touted as “The World’s Most Beautiful Freeway.” Nestled between urban hubs and the Santa Cruz Mountains, the landscape has no doubt factored heavily into the freeway’s reputation, but there are also dozens of stunning and memorable man-made sites that motorists can appreciate along the drive: From the Mission in Santa Clara to the Crystal Springs Reservoir to the San Francisco city skyline itself. But it appears that one major landmark will no longer be there.
The 26-foot-tall concrete and rebar statue of the Spanish Catholic saint, Junípero Serra, has been torn down. This came as a huge surprise to many of the locals, as the massive stone statue has stood sentinel on the hilltop in Hillsborough for half a century. Understandably, many might be curious as to why this happened and what the response has been to the loss of this gigantic and imposing figure.
The statue was created in 1975 by artist Louis DuBois, funded by San Francisco’s own Mission Dolores as well as several other Catholic missions from across California, and it has been there ever since. You might understandably be wondering who is responsible for the removal of this landmark and why the gigantic concrete statue of Junípero Serra was torn down. It turns out, the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) was the one who removed it. “The installation did not meet current Transportation Art Program requirements and had been a frequent target of graffiti and vandalism,” Caltrans district spokesperson Jean Crawford reportedly told SFGATE…