Future of SF’s ALBA Monument Draws Support

media contact: David Perry / (415) 676-7007 / news@davidperry.com

Future of Abraham Lincoln Brigade Monument draws supporters
to Monday’s Arts Commission 2pm hearing at San Francisco City Hall

With no replacement site identified in city correspondence, supporters seek a written relocation plan as Embarcadero Park design advances

18 October 2026 – SAN FRANCISCO: Supporters of San Francisco’s Abraham Lincoln Brigade Monument are calling for a permanent, visible and accessible home for the waterfront memorial as the San Francisco Arts Commission’s Civic Design Review Committee considers the proposed Embarcadero Park design on Monday, October 19, at 2 p.m., in City Hall, Room 416. Reporters and photographers are encouraged to cover the hearing, where supporters plan to speak during public comment and display signs supporting the monument. The committee is scheduled to consider Conceptual Design and Phase I approval for the park project.

The hearing follows an October 15 email to monument supporters from Mary Chou, the Arts Commission’s Civic Art Collection and Public Art Program Director, stating that the Recreation and Park Department is not proposing Embarcadero Plaza as a relocation site for the monument.

According to that correspondence, designers studied several locations within the park but encountered conflicts involving maintenance access, stormwater management, landscaping, visibility and accessible circulation. The Arts Commission is working with Recreation and Park and the Port of San Francisco to identify alternative sites for consideration by supporters and the artist. The email did not identify a replacement location or installation timetable.

“San Francisco made a promise when it dedicated this monument: that the Americans who stood up to fascism in Spain would have a lasting place in our city’s public memory,” said David Perry, a monument supporter who helped with its 2008 dedication. “We appreciate the work city staff are doing. Now we need a written commitment identifying where the monument will go, how the move will be funded and when it will be back on public view. It cannot get lost in the shuffle.”

Supporters are asking the committee to include a written requirement in its action for a permanent relocation plan developed with the Abraham Lincoln Brigade Archives (ALBA) community and artist Walter Hood. That plan should identify a site, funding, a responsible city department and a firm installation timetable.

They are also seeking safeguards for handling and storage during any move, protection against vandalism, accessible and readable panels, and nearby space for commemorations and community gatherings.

The monument’s waterfront setting connects its story to San Francisco’s labor history. Participants in the 1934 waterfront strike later volunteered in Spain, and returning veterans continued their involvement in labor, civil rights and antiwar movements.

“A renewed waterfront should make room for the history that helped shape San Francisco,” Perry said. “These volunteers’ courage, and their lifelong commitment to social justice, deserve a place where people can encounter their story, read it and gather to remember.”

Meeting and coverage details

• When: Monday, October 19, 2026, at 2 p.m.; supporters are encouraged to arrive by 1:30 p.m.
• Where: San Francisco City Hall, Room 416, 1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place.
• Hearing: San Francisco Arts Commission, Civic Design Review Committee; Embarcadero Park design review.
• Coverage opportunities: Supporters with printed signs and public testimony about the monument’s future. Contact David Perry for background and interview coordination.
• Meeting information: Official city project update and meeting link.

About the Abraham Lincoln Brigade Monument:
Dedicated on March 30, 2008, at San Francisco’s Embarcadero Plaza, the Abraham Lincoln Brigade Monument honors the approximately 2,800 American volunteers who went to Spain to defend the Spanish Republic against fascism during the Spanish Civil War of 1936–1939. Designed by Ann Chamberlain and Walter Hood, the monument combines onyx panels and steel on a concrete base. It was a gift from the Abraham Lincoln Brigade Archives to the City and County of San Francisco and is part of the city’s Civic Art Collection. Its dedication brought surviving veterans together with families and supporters to recognize a legacy of international solidarity and the defense of democracy.

Photo for media use: Abraham Lincoln Brigade Monument, San Francisco. Photo: Jim Heaphy / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0. Photograph taken May 6, 2013.