Controversial statue in downtown San Jose will be gone by May

San Jose is finally preparing to remove a divisive statue downtown almost a year and a half after a decision was made to take it down.

The controversial Thomas Fallon statue on St. James Street is expected to be dismantled by May 4 —  the result of a decadeslong effort from those who consider it a symbol of American imperialism and the persecution of Mexican and indigenous community members. City officials said that the 16-foot-tall, 12,000-pound bronze statue will be placed in storage — and cost $450,000 to dismantle.

The artwork, which depicts the former San Jose mayor and captain in the Mexican-American war on horseback raising the American flag, is worth $6,000. City officials said there are currently no plans for another piece of art at the location — and the spot will be replaced with a traffic median.

“As we observe April as Genocide Awareness and Prevention Month, today’s start of the Fallon statue removal is a powerful statement that the era of the American Genocide is being recognized and that it is a step in the right direction of righting the wrongs of a brutal period not long ago, and it is a sign the Bay Area is moving forward to attain justice,” wrote Charlene Nijmeh, Chairwoman of the Muwékma Ohlone Tribe, one of the groups who has advocated for the statue’s removal. “A symbol that reflects all of the people in the Bay Area ought to be put in its place.”

On Tuesday, the sound of jackhammers could be heard at the intersection where the statue is located, with construction crews beginning to dismantle its concrete foundation. Onlookers in their cars gazed over as dust collected at the statue’s base.

The removal is the culmination of years of controversy surrounding the statue, which was commissioned in 1988 by then-Mayor Tom McEnery without public input and symbolizes American settlers’ victory during the Bear Flag Revolt of 1846 where control of California was taken from the Mexican government.

After the statue’s commissioning, the artwork sat in storage for a decade following community concerns about its symbolism. It was later installed in 2002. Efforts to remove the artwork gained traction after the summer 2020 protests in the wake of George Floyd’s murder, and the city council voted unanimously in November 2021 for its dismantling.