A piece of Lotta’s Fountain was found to be missing last week, seen to the left.
Sam Mauhay-Moore, SFGATE
A piece of Lotta’s Fountain, a nearly 150-year-old San Francisco monument that played a significant role in the aftermath of the 1906 earthquake, was found to have been vandalized last week.
Local tour guide Joseph Amster noticed one of the fountain’s cast iron flower adornments had been removed, and he notified the San Francisco Arts Commission on July 12, the commission’s communication director Coma Te told SFGATE. The commission immediately informed their civic art collection team, which is tasked with caring for the city’s monuments.
Replacing the flower will likely involve creating a mold and casting it in iron, Te said. The last time this occurred at Lotta’s Fountain was in 2021, when one of its iron pomegranates was broken off and stolen. Replacing it took two years.
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“That did take a little bit of time to address because it was during the pandemic and resources were scarce, as well as finding a suitable vendor who is familiar with how to address a problem like that. We don’t have a timeline just yet, but we hope to get it done as quickly as possible. I hope it won’t take as long as last time,” Te said.
People gather near Lotta’s Fountain on Market Street, 1906. From the glass negatives.
The Chronicle 1906
The fountain, in the intersection of Market, Kearny, Geary and 3rd streets, was gifted to the city in 1875 by actress and dancer Lotta Crabtree. Crabtree began her career performing for Gold Rush miners as a young girl, and eventually went on to become one of California’s most revered entertainers — and also rich enough to donate the massive fountain to San Francisco. The monument is best known for being a meeting point immediately after the 1906 earthquake, where many people would gather to try and reassemble their families. A gathering is held there every April in commemoration.
In a survey included in a recent report by the city’s Monuments and Memorials Advisory Committee, the fountain was voted as the most liked monument in the entire city. The fountain underwent a complete restoration in 1998, in which all of its pieces were taken apart and reassembled.
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While the arts commission did notify San Francisco police about the vandalism, there isn’t enough information or evidence available to begin an investigation into who took the iron flower, Te said. He added that monuments and memorials around the city do get vandalized with graffiti from time to time, but the arts commission works to address those instances quickly.
“We hope people will appreciate the art and not try to add on graffiti or take a piece home as a souvenir,” Te said.