Father Junipero Serra’s trek as a political refugee has not ended quite yet. That is, the oak statue of Serra by famed artist Jo Mora, which sat on display in a niche outside of the Carmel Woods neighborhood for nearly 98 years. In June 2020 it was removed by the city of Carmel for safekeeping in the wake of protests and destruction of symbols of racism and colonialism around the country. There were a couple of issues: The statue sat on county land and it was unclear who actually owned it.
The statue was unveiled on July 22, 1922, commissioned by Pebble Beach Company founder S.F.B. Morse for the opening of his new development, Carmel Woods. Did it belong to the Pebble Beach Company? The county? Carmel? One by one, each entity has declined to take ownership, according to Carmel Woods Neighborhood Association President Mark McDonald.
Recently it was decided that the neighborhood association should own it, and on July 15, Carmel officials handed it over, although the statue remains hidden from public view. Monterey County Counsel Les Girard informed McDonald that the association cannot return it to the niche since it’s on public land and Serra is a religious symbol.
No decision by the neighborhood group has been made about Serra’s future. “We need to talk about it as a community and we simply haven’t had a chance to do it,” McDonald says. They want a county encroachment permit to maintain the niche and benches, also designed by Mora.
On Friday, July 22, association members are holding a private ceremony marking the statue’s 100-year anniversary. Father Serra will not make an appearance.