MLK Monument Enhancement
Riverside, CA
23 years ago, a sculpture of Martin Luther King Jr. was commissioned by the Riverside African-American Historical Society and the City of Riverside, and placed near Riverside City Hall on the Main Street pedestrian mall. Over time, the City and volunteer groups commissioned the Mahatma Gandhi, Dosan Ahn Chang Ho and Eliza Tibbets monuments and placed them along the pedestrian mall creating a walking museum.
The Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial monument is a 7'-0" tall bronze statue supported by a 5'-0" round by 2'-0" tall granite foundation with letters reading, "I HAVE A DREAM"… Curving concrete curbs with metal benches attached flank the monument on two sides. The monument is connected to the main walking path with concrete sidewalk, pavers and tree lined landscape buffers.
The artist of the Martin Luther King Jr. sculpture, Lisa Reinertson said this about her work, “This sculpture is meant to be a reminder and an inspiration to all of us to think about the kind of world we want to leave for our children. Dr. King’s insistence on nonviolent activism, and on confronting the moral injustices of inequality and racism within our system and within our culture, is something deserving to be etched in bronze.- So that for future generations these stories my never be forgotten, and in hopes that we someday may truly live up to Dr. King’s dream.”