Texas Heroes Monument

Texas Heroes Monument. . The Texas Heroes Monument was erected in 1900 and dedicated on April 21st. It was the first monument in Texas honoring heroes of the Texas Revolution of 1836. On the monument, the outstretched hand of Victory is pointing to the San Jacinto Battleground. Henry Rosenberg, who died in 1893, left a number of bequests to the City of Galveston, including $50,000 for the erection of a heroes' monument commemorating the Texas Revolution. The popular Texas Heroes Monument became the city's landmark. Sculptor Louis Armateis created it. The imposing structure is 74 feet high, made of bronze and granite. The figure is the female form of Victory holding a laurel wreath. City officials ordered it placed in the middle of the intersection at 25th (Rosenberg) and Broadway. Monument Square was created by Texas First Bank as a tribute to this work by Armateis and the heroes it represents. , Louis Armateis, an Italian, studied sculpture and architecture in Italy and immigrated to New York in 1883. He founded the School of Architecture and Fine Arts that became George Washington University. He is responsible for a number of famous sculptures, including the bronze doors on the west entrance to the Capital. This monument to the heros of the Texas Revolution is considered to be one of his finest works. , Texas Firsts. . The commission form of government, the first in the nation, was established in Galveston in 1901, and has since been changed to the Council-Manager form of government. , . Galveston has the state's first public library. On January 20, 1871, the Mercantile Library, later called the Galveston Public Library was opened. Some of its volumes are now part of the Rosenberg Library collection. , . The economic life and spiritual welfare of Texas owes much to those who came to Galveston aboard sailing vessels and whose influences spread throughout this great state.