Roman Gladiator, Bronze sculpture in Golden Gate Park, United States

Roman Gladiator is a nearly 11-foot-tall bronze sculpture in San Francisco that depicts an ancient warrior wearing a cape, helmet, and holding a sword. The statue sits in the northern area of the Music Concourse, positioned across from a major museum entrance.

A Belgian artist created this sculpture in 1881, and it later became central to the opening of a major international exposition in San Francisco in 1893. The work had already gained attention in Europe before its arrival.

The bronze plaque on the base records that the first shovelful of earth for the California Midwinter International Exposition was turned on this spot on August 24, 1893. The figure of the gladiator, made by Joris Geefs, thus marks the ground where the fair began.

The sculpture stands in the northern part of the Music Concourse in Golden Gate Park, across from a museum entrance, at coordinates 37.77072, -122.46846. The bronze plaque is on the front of the base, which measures about 40 x 44 x 44 inches, so look at the base rather than the figure for the 1893 inscription.

The bronze plaque on the base does not name the sculptor: it records that the first shovelful of earth for the California Midwinter International Exposition was turned on this spot on August 24, 1893. The statue itself dates from 1881, twelve years earlier.