This is the second part of a post by Boyle Heights Historical Society Advisory Board member Rudy Martinez on a little-known statue for a largely-forgotten figure from the American Revolution, Haym Salomon. Enjoy and check back soon for the next installment! – Paul R. Spitzzeri
After a good deal of planning was instituted for the installation of the Haym Salomon statue at Hollenbeck Park in Boyle Heights, a letter was sent to the supporters of the project by the Treasury Department on behalf of the Haym Salomon Day Committee with the date for the unveiling (January 6, the anniversary of Salomon’s death) and details for the accompanying war bond sales campaign.
A follow-up invitation was soon sent out, inviting supporters to attend a fundraiser on December 18 at the Boyle Heights Victory House located at Brooklyn Avenue (now César Chávez Avenue) and Soto Street. Organizing the event with Monte Salvin was businessman Meyer Pransky, who was well-known in Boyle Heights for organizing a number of successful war bond drives that earned city-wide attention. For example, a particularly impressive 21-day drive raised $300,000 by mid-January 1943, culminating in the christening of a B-12 Flying Fortress Bomber as “The Spirit Of Boyle Heights.” Meanwhile, a letter was also sent out by the Haym Salomon Day Committee to numerous civic leaders and organizations inviting them to Hollenbeck Park for the unveiling.
On December 22, 1943, Mayor Fletcher Bowron signed a City of Los Angeles proclamation designating January 6, 1944, as Haym Salomon Day. An accompanying photo showed Bowron signing the proclamation with Salvin and film actress Marjorie Weaver, whose best-known film was 1939’s Young Mr. Lincoln, starring Henry Fonda. The document specifically mentions Hollenbeck Park as the site for the unveiling event.
In a community event almost completely unknown today, the unveiling of the Haym Salomon statue was met with great civic fanfare. The four-hour program included a military parade, a concert, a celebrity emcee, and a live broadcast over KFWB radio. The mayor, prominent citizens, representatives from various faiths, and even the local vice-consul of China were present.
According the Los Angeles Times, about one thousand spectators were in attendance, but this number may not even include those who lined the parade route. It was also reported that “more than $250,000 worth of war bonds were sold,” an impressive amount but far short of the committee’s very ambitious goal of $3,000,000.
A two-page program was published for the event. A closer look at the program revealed a Hollywood connection literally hidden within the statue. In 1939, Warner Brothers released a two-reel (about twenty minutes) film short titled Sons of Liberty based on the life of Salomon and starring Claude Rains, a four-time Oscar nominee in such films as 1939’s Mr. Smith Goes to Washington and 1942’s Casablanca. Sons of Liberty went on to win the 1940 Academy Award for Best Short Subject, Two-Reel.
The second page of the program indicated the ceremonies included the “Sealing of Archives in Base of Statue” that included a copy of the film. It’s interesting to note that, in depicting Salomon in any medium, artistic license has to be used because no contemporary likeness of him exists. No one today really knows what he looked like, so who knows if the British-born Rains bore any resemblance!
Smaller-scale “anniversary ceremonies” continued at Hollenbeck Park over the next several years. Noted historian and philosopher, Will Durant (winner, with his wife Ariel, of a Pulitzer Prize for one installment of the 11-volume Story of Civilization), addressed a Hollenbeck Park audience on the one-year anniversary on January 8, 1945. The war ended seven months later, coinciding with the beginnings of a population shift that would change the demographic character of Boyle Heights, as well as the location of the Haym Salomon statue.
The next part of this series discusses how the Haym Salomon statue for points west, so check back soon! – Paul R. Spitzzeri