| Monument Name: | Fort Moore Pioneer Memorial |
| Location: | 451 North Hill Street Los Angeles, California |
| Designer: | Kazumi Adachi Dike Nagano Henry Kreis Albert Stewart |
| Type: | Memorial Wall |
| Material: | Stone Terra cotta |
| Length: | 78feet |
| Height: | 45feet |
| Mapframe: | yes |
| Mapframe-Zoom: | 13 |
The Fort Moore Pioneer Memorial is a large stone memorial wall built in 1957 on part of the original location of Fort Moore (named for Benjamin D. Moore) facing North Hill Street, in Los Angeles, California.[1]
The memorial was completed in phases; while the art wall was completed in 1956,[2] [3] the pylon, waterfall and memorial wall were not completed until 1957 or 1958. The final funding was secured in 1957. The official dedication of the memorial was on July 3, 1958.[4]
As the largest bas-relief military monument in the United States, it honors the Mormon Battalion, the U.S. 1st Dragoons, and the New York Volunteers who raised the American flag over the fort on July 4, 1847, at the first Independence Day in Los Angeles.
Funded by the County of Los Angeles, the City of Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Board of Education and the Department of Water and Power, the memorial was designed by Kazumi Adachi and Dike Nagano and dedicated on July 3, 1957. Featuring four different panels, a 78feet by 45feet terra cotta panel designed by Saltus Award-winner Henry Kreis is the most prominent feature and portrays the July 4 event.
Other panels represent the agricultural and spiritual foundation of the region; transportation that shaped the city at the end of the 19th century; and the crucial role that water and electricity play in a large modern city.
An 80feet wide waterfall sits to the right of the panels. It was out of service since a 1977 drought, and turned on in December 2018 after restoration work was completed.[5] The monument also includes a 279feet long brick facade that serves as a backdrop for a 68feet high pylon designed by noted American sculptor Albert Stewart. The pylon features a 16feet by 11feet American eagle as well as an incised relief on the low wall along the sidewalk depicting the 1100miles march of the Mormon Battalion from Council Bluffs, Iowa, to Los Angeles.