Dewey Monument

The Dewey Monument stands at the center of Union Square in San Francisco, honoring the U.S. Navy's historic victory in Manila Bay under the command of George Dewey in 1898. Erected in 1903, the monument also commemorates President William McKinley, who died in an assassination in 1901. Designed by sculptor Robert Aitken and architect Newton Tharp, it consists of a granite column about 79 feet (24 meters) tall, topped by a capital roughly 16 feet (5 meters) high. At the very top stands the figure of winged Victory, holding a trident and a laurel wreath. The local heiress Alma de Bretteville Spreckels is said to have served as the model for the statue. President Theodore Roosevelt dedicated the monument on May 13, 1903. Despite its slender design, it came through the devastating 1906 earthquake unscathed. The base bears several inscriptions documenting the historical background of the victory and the dedication. You can admire this impressive monument in the heart of the city and read the texts on it, which recall the city's military history and its culture of remembrance.