Roger Noble Burnham Sites

The Astronomers Monument at Griffith Observatory is one of L. Archibald Garner's well-known public works. It was completed in 1934 with Public Works of Art Project (PWAP) support. The Monument pays homage to six great astronomers: Hipparchus, Nicolas Copernicus, Galileo Galilei, Johannes Kepler, Isaac Newton, and William Herschel. Although the Monument was Garner's design, he worked with five other sculptors to sculpt and cast it. Each artist was responsible for one astronomer. (One of the artists, George Stanley, was also the creator of the famous "Oscar" statuette.) "On November 25, 1934 (about six months prior to the opening of the Observatory), a...

In 1934, Roger Noble Burnham sculpted a bronze bust for Phineas Banning High School in Los Angeles, CA, of former principal W. I. Travers. The portrait bust is listed as missing by the Los Angeles Public Library. Burnham also contributed to the Astronomer's Monument (1934), a Public Works of Art Project (PWAP) in Griffith Park (Los Angeles, CA). A different artist was responsible for each of the six astronomers depicted; Burnham sculpted the William Herschel figure.