San Francisco's Waterfront Redesign Puts an Anti-Fascist Monument in Jeopardy – KQED

San Francisco’s Waterfront Redesign Puts an Anti-Fascist Monument in Jeopardy  KQED

A new project seeks to modernize San Francisco’s waterfront, and could leave out an antifascist monument out of the redesign. A San Francisco monument that honors the Bay Area volunteers who, nearly a century ago, traveled to Spain to fight fascists, could be moved as part of the redevelopment of the Embarcadero Plaza and Sue Bierman Park. The city is reimagining the 5-acre waterfront park facing the Ferry Building, to include expansive gardens, a dog play area, outdoor dining and performance and recreation spaces. But the plans propose removing an anti-fascist artwork that has been on site since 2008 to make way for the changes — and not everyone is happy about it.

Megan Bierman, daughter of former Supervisor Sue Bierman for whom the park is named, spoke at a San Francisco Arts Commission meeting on Monday evening, where members agreed to plaza plans on the condition of meeting again to discuss the fate of the eight-feet high, 40-foot long steel-and-onyx installation. “That monument is the most important monument in San Francisco,” Bierman said. “It is a monument to people with so much heart, and soul, and courage that they went and fought fascism in the Spanish Civil War.” Another meeting attendee, Mark Norton, said he was “ashamed” and “astonished” that the city would approve plans without thought of the