How the statue on top of SF City Hall ended up in someone's basement for decades
About the only part of City Hall to survive the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire was the statue that sat atop the dome. It was called the "Goddess of Progress." It loomed over miles of rubble, from a steel cage perch. The statue was removed from its once prominent position, only to disappear for years. Its whereabouts would remain a mystery until the late 1940s.