Conquistador - Franciscan - Plainsman - Indian, (sculpture).

Conquistador - Franciscan - Plainsman - Indian, (sculpture).

Unknown, sculptor.

Davis, Foster, Thorpe and Associates, Inc., architectural firm.

Conquistador - Franciscan - Plainsman - Indian, (sculpture).

Installed April 21, 1969.

Relief plaques: bronze; Base: concrete.

4 relief plaques. Each relief plaque: approx. D. 3 in. x Diam. 24 in.; Base: approx. 8 ft. x 24 ft. x 12 in.

(Title at top of each relief plaque:) Conquistador Franciscan Plainsman Indian (On plaque on center panel of bandstand, raised lettering:) SAN JACINTO PLAZA/1858-1969/MAYOR JUDSON F. WILLIAMS/ALDERMEN/(Left column:) ASHLEY G. CLASSEN/J. WARREN HOYT/(Right column:) SAL BERROTERAN/FRED H. McKINSTRY/DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS P. G. DIETER, JR., P. E./DIRECTOR OF PLANNING JONATHAN CUNNINGHAM/SUPERINTENDENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION B. DALE TATE/CITY ENGINEER C. W. DAVIS, P. E./ARCHITECT AND ENGINEER DAVIS, FOSTER, THORPE AND ASSOCIATES, INC./BUILDER JOHN R. LAVIS GENERAL CONTRACTOR, INC.

(On plaque on left panel of bandstand, raised lettering:) SAN JACINTO PLAZA/IN 1857, W.T. SMITH SOLD HIS PROPERTY WHICH HE CALLED "THE TOWN OF EL PASO" FOR $6500.00./THE BUYERS WERE J.S. AND H.S. GILLETTE, J.F. CROSBY, J.W. MORTON AND V. ST. VRAIN; THEY HAD IT/SURVEYED BY ANSON MILLS. THE MAP SHOWED DOWNTOWN EL PASO MUCH AS IT IS TODAY, INCLUD-/ING A "PUBLIC SQUARE" WHICH THEY DONATED TO THE FUTURE CITY OF EL PASO, INCORPORATED/IN 1873. THIS PLOT OF GROUND, A HAVEN FOR THE WEARY TRAVELER, HAS SEEN AND HEARD THE/LIFE OF THIS AREA MARCH BY SINCE SPANISH COLONIAL TIMES. IT SAW RUMBLING OX-DRAWN/CARTS, THE FIRST U.S. SOLDIERS, COVERED WAGONS, THEN JEFF DAVIS'S CAMEL CORPS, STAGE-/COACHES, THE BLAST OF SIX-GUNS AND THE FIRST LOCOMOTIVE WHISTLES, AND LAW AND ORDER/EMERGING. THE YEARS BROUGHT CONCERTS, POLITICAL AND PATRIOTIC SPEECHES, PRESIDENTS/VISITING AND MARCHING SOLDIERS OF OUR WARS. IT WAS DESIGNATED "THE PLAZA" BY THE 1889/CITY FATHERS, BUT THE 1902 COUNCIL PERMANENTLY AND OFFICIALLY NAMED IT/SAN JACINTO PLAZA/PRESENTED BY/THE STATE NATIONAL BANK/OF EL PASO, TEXAS/30 JULY 1965

(On plaque on right panel of bandstand, raised lettering:) SAN JACINTO PLAZA/BEAUTIFICATION/RAYMOND L. TELLES, JR./MAYOR/EL PASO, TEXAS/ALDERMEN/ERNEST F. CRAIGO RALPH E. SEITSINGER/TED BENDER JACK C. WHITE/CHARLES W. DAVIS/CITY ENGINEER/BRYCE LAMMERT/SUPT. OF PARKS AND RECREATION/ARCHITECT/LOUIS L. MOLLINARY, SR./CONTRACTOR/AARON M. BRENNER/MARCH 20, 1961 unsigned

Four circular bas-relief plaques feature bust portraits of men representing the types of people who settled in the El Paso area. The plaques are mounted on the rear of a three-paneled bandstand wall. Two plaques are installed on each flanking panel. Each bust is shown in proper right profile. On the left panel, from left to right, are: a conquistador wearing a helmet and a monk wearing a hood. On the right panel, from left to right, are: a plainsman wearing a wide-brimmed cowboy hat pushed up off his forehead and an Indian with shoulder-length hair wearing a headband and feather.

History -- United States -- Texas

Figure male -- Bust

Occupation -- Military -- Conquistador

Ethnic -- Spanish

Occupation -- Religion -- Clergy

Occupation -- Other -- Pioneer

Ethnic -- Indian

Outdoor Sculpture -- Texas -- El Paso

Administered by City of El Paso, Parks and Recreation Department, #2 Civic Center Plaza, El Paso, Texas 79901

Located San Jacinto Plaza, El Paso, Texas

The four relief plaques were originally mounted on the old alligator fountain in San Jacinto Plaza. They were installed on the new bandstand on April 21, 1969 as part of a San Jacinto Plaza Beautification Project. The architectural and engineering firm of Davis, Foster, Thorpe and Associates designed the plaza's new layout. IAS files contain a Clarification Drawing for the plaque layout by Davis Foster Thorpe, April 21, 1969; and related correspondence.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, Texas survey, 1994.

The information provided about this artwork was compiled as part of the Smithsonian American Art Museum's Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture database, designed to provide descriptive and location information on artworks by American artists in public and private collections worldwide.

Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture, Smithsonian American Art Museum, P.O. Box 37012, MRC 970, Washington, D.C. 20013-7012

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