With music by the San Diego City Guard Band, Mayor Todd Gloria dedicated the flagpoles on the San Diego Automotive Museum on Flag Day, June 14, 2023. After Girl Scout Rebecca Bronstein led the Pledge of Allegiance, Mayor Gloria congratulated the Committee of 100 for helping to lead a team of organizations in improving the park's Palisades area.
In addition to the gold-topped flagpoles, two life-size grizzly bear sculptures have also returned to their original perches after an absence of more than eight decades. The building first served as the exhibition hall for the State of California at the 1935 California-Pacific International Exposition.
C-100 President Ross Porter presented Mayor Gloria with a gold-plated maquette of the "Red-Fern" bear sculpture.
Installation work has been overseen by Barnhart-Reese Construction. The bronze-surfaced grizzly bear sculptures were created by San Diego’s Bellagio Precast, based on historic photographs and using glass-fiber reinforced concrete encased by a cold-cast bronze outer coating. More information on how the sculptures were made can be found at this link.
C-100 Project Architect Robert Thiele has been supervising the work since 2016 with restoration of the tile murals and ornamental pieces that were dedicated in April 2021 by Mayor Todd Gloria.
U.S. Representative Scott Peters offered a Flag Day Proclamation, noting that both the U.S. and California flags have been flown over the capitol buildings in Sacramento and Washington, DC.
“In 2035, we expect that the Palisades will be more beautiful and more historical with re-created reminders of San Diego’s successful challenge to the economic depression of the 1930’s,” Porter said.