• Hartnell College Sculpture - Salinas CA
    A ten foot long, 16 ton, polished black Diorite panther sculpture, nicknamed "Oscar." It was created by Raymond Puccinelli with support from the WPA Federal Art Project.
  • Monterey County Courthouse - Salinas CA
    The Public Works Administration (PWA) helped fund construction of the magnificent Monterey County courthouse in downtown Salinas, California, which opened in 1937. New Deal funds supplemented a local bond issue to cover the cost of this large building, which covers a square block.   The cornerstone makes it clear that New Deal funding came from the PWA, not the Works Progress Administration (WPA), as claimed by the nearby historical marker. This is a common mistake, given the similarity of PWA and WPA. Robert Stanton was the architect and the design is Classical Moderne.  It was built with a large courtyard, which originally surrounded...
  • Monterey County Courthouse: Mora Bas Relief Heads - Salinas CA
    Prominent California artist Jo Mora produced twenty-three cast-concrete, bas-relief busts (approximately 12" x 18" in size) for the exterior of the Monterey County Courthouse.  The reliefs appear in the spandrels between first and second story windows all around the building and in the courtyard. The work is titled "California Faces" and represents 23 types of people who were important in California history, which Mora called:   Indian Man, Indian Woman, Junipero Serra, Juan Cabrillo, John Fremont, Pioneer Man, Pioneer Woman, Spanish Woman, Asian Woman. The project was funded by the Federal Art Project (FAP), an arm of the Works Progress Administration, and installed in 1937. While we might not make the same choices of...
  • Monterey County Courthouse: Mora Bas-Relief Capitals - Salinas CA
    Prominent California artist Jo Mora crafted six bas-relief capitals for the tall pillars the main interior courtyard entrance to the Monterey County Courthouse in Salinas, California.  The sculpture depict scenes from early California history, featuring indigenous people, Mexican Californios, mission neophytes and fishermen. These sculptures were done with a grant from the Federal Art Project (FAP), a branch of the Works Progress Administration (WPA), in 1937. The building and its sculptures were placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2009 and renovated in 2018.
  • Monterey County Courthouse: Mora Bas-Relief Scenes - Salinas CA
    California artist Jo Mora created five concrete bas-reliefs of historic scenes for the Monterey County Courthouse, as well as of a large female figure with a sword. The five historic scenes are mounted over the main entrance doors to the courthouse on the west side of the interior courtyard.  They are stylized representations of, from left to right, native people, conquistadores, friar and Mission neophytes, Anglo-American settlers and various athletes. The female figure is over the exterior door on the east side of the building and appears to be a stylized, classical figure of justice. This group of artworks was funded by the...
  • Monterey County Courthouse: Mora Fountain Pillar - Salinas CA
    California artist Jo Mora created a sculpted pillar with several brass bas-reliefs of historic scenes for the decorative fountain in the courtyard of the Monterey County Courthouse. This and the other Jo Mora artworks on the exterior of the courthouse were funded by the Federal Art Project (FAP), an arm of the Works Progress Administration, and completed in 1937. The building and its art works were placed on the National Register in 2008.  It was renovated in 2018 and the former fountain is now a planter with drought-tolerant species.    
  • O'Hanlon Reliefs, Steinbeck Station Post Office - Salinas CA
    Sculptor Richard "Dick" O'Hanlon created two wooden bas-relief panels for the Salinas, California post office and federal building -- now called the Steinbeck Station Post Office.   The works were funded by the Treasury Relief Art Project (TRAP) and installed in 1936.  One is titled "Cowboy and Bull" and the other "Cowboy and Horse."  They are carved in black walnut. The reliefs hang at either end of the long lobby. They appear to be in very good condition. Originally from Long Beach, California, O'Hanlon (1906-1985) joined other young California artists like Frederick Olmsted apprenticing with Diego Rivera at the San Francisco Art Institute...
  • Steinbeck Station Post Office - Salinas CA
    The downtown post office and federal building in Salinas, California, was constructed by the Treasury Department in 1936.  It is now known as the Steinbeck Station Post Office. The lobby appears to be unchanged from the 1930s.  It contains two wooden bas-relief sculptures by Richard O'Hanlon.