There's a rough stone block at the western edge of the causeway that divides what was once Westlake Park. The stone is grouped in a plot next to two others: a taller block surmounted by a bronze general and a smaller one with a bronze newsboy. The general points across Wilshire Boulevard to the northwest. The newsboy, his back to the road, clutching a bundle of papers, shouts the latest headline to boaters on the lake in what is now MacArthur Park.
But the one block is empty. It once supported the figure of a muscular youth striding past the general, a flag staff and partially furled flag on his right shoulder, calm resolve on his expressive face. He was dressed as an Army volunteer - even then, called a doughboy - in the boots, leggings, cartridge belt, and campaign hat of the Spanish American War. He could have been seen as marching toward battle or away from downtown. Except for the flag, he was unarmed.
The looming general, in the officer's uniform of the same period, his face unexpressive, is identified by the plaque at his feet. It declares, with the loud self-importance that defined the man in life:
General Harrison Grey Otis
1837-1917
Soldier, Journalist, Friend of Freedom
Stand Fast, Stand Firm, Stand Sure, Stand True
Otis has stood on his rock since 1920, when the group of figures was installed at what had been the eastern terminus of Wilshire Boulevard, which ended at the park until 1934 when the causeway was built across the lake to take traffic to downtown. Before the causeway, the general's finger pointed westward down Wilshire Boulevard (circled in red below) as if directing seekers to real estate deals among the unbuilt lots of West LA.
Even now, gesturing in a more ambiguous direction, Otis looks more than a little stiff and pompous.
Original location of the Otis group. (The location of the group is circled in red in an enlargement [blurred] of this photograph.) Courtesy fo the Security Pacific National Bank Collection - Los Angeles Public Library. [source]
Statue of General Harrison Gray Otis in Westlake Park, courtesy of the USC Libraries, California Historical Society Collection. [source]
Otis sculptural group (side view). Courtesy of the Photo Collection - Los Angeles Public Library. [source]
Causeway and new location of the Otis Group. Courtesy of the USC Libraries, California Historical Society Collection. [source]
Otis sculptural group (color, missing soldier). Photo by Wally Gobetz, 2014, used under a Creative Commons License. [source]
His original position was intentional. Otis' home - he called it the Bivouac - was located a few steps away across Park View Street on one of the first lots to be sold in Gaylord Wilshire's suburban development in 1896.
The Los Angeles Times called Wilshire a flamboyant self-promoter, as good a description of Wilshire as of Otis, who owned the paper. Wilshire also was a crusading socialist. Otis wasn't.
Otis home (The Bivouac). Courtesy of the USC Libraries, California Historical Society Collection. [source]
Hiram Johnson, while successfully running for governor in 1910 as a progressive Republican, characterized the general as anything that is disgraceful, depraved, corrupt, crooked, and putrescent - that is Harrison Gray Otis. Otis died in 1917.
His memorial - bronze general, newsboy, and doughboy - was funded by Otis' wealthy friends, who included developer Henry Huntington and banker Henry W. O'Melveny. They chose the artist, society sculptor Paul Troubetzkoy, an actual Russian prince. They paid the $50,000 cost of casting and installation.
Although they were memorializing one of the city's most powerful businessmen, a participant in the deal that brought Owens Valley water to their San Fernando Valley acreage, and a tireless booster of selling that acreage in the pages of the Los Angeles Times, the committee members chose to remember Otis as a military man.
Otis had enlisted in the 12th Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry at the start of the Civil War, eventually earning the rank of lieutenant-colonel. Granted another Army appointment in 1898, when he was 61, Otis eventually commanded California volunteers in the suppression of the Philippine insurrection. In later years, Otis took to handing out calling cards that showed him in a bemedaled uniform and annotated with his rank: Brig. Gen. U.S. Vols. 1st Brigade, 2d Division, 8th Army Corps.
--
--
However his contemporaries wanted to remember Otis, his memorial seems to have had an alternative purpose. Soon after the sculptural group was installed in 1920, Popular Mechanics magazine noted that a number of cars had gone over the embankment at the end of Wilshire Boulevard and into the lake in the park, although no lives had yet been lost. The sculptures and their rocky bases were supposed to barricade the intersection to prevent a future auto tragedy, the magazine claimed.
The statues had their own tragedies. They were struck by a swerving car, perhaps more than once, after their relocation at the entrance to the Wilshire Boulevard causeway. News reports say the group needed extensive restoration in the 1940s. In 2009, Dranov Khaliunaa was killed and three companions injured when Khaliunaa's Scion TC plowed into what remained of the group.
Art student at Otis Art Institute. Courtesy of the Security Pacific National Bank Collection - Los Angeles Public Library. [source]
Sandra Garcia told the Times that she heard the brakes screech as the vehicle jumped the curb, crossed over the block that had formerly held the doughboy, and rammed the general's base. Its kind of weird that it hit the statue, Garcia mused.
The general had commanded the newsboy and the doughboy until theft or another crash swept the latter figure away. That was sometime before 1994, when the Smithsonian surveyed the monument. Julie
Most recent headlines
09/11/2025
Dalet today announced a transformative leap forward for media operations: Agentic Artificial Intelligence (AI) that unifies the Dalet ecosystem under one natura...
22/10/2025
Prime Video Inks Deal To Present NFL Black Friday Game Worldwide By SVG Staff
Wednesday, October 22, 2025 - 10:06 am
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story ...
22/10/2025
NBA Tip-Off: ESPN Goes 1080p HDR End-to-End, Flipping HDR Switch on REMI and REM...
22/10/2025
FloSports Empowers Division II, III Athletic Departments With Turnkey Production...
22/10/2025
Wall Street Video Summit Debuts, Bringing Together 200 Financial Enterprise Vide...
22/10/2025
Dueling Pianos: International Chopin Piano Competition Is as Competitive as a Ba...
22/10/2025
In 1995, a young Colombian artist released an album that would change Latin pop ...
22/10/2025
Over the past few months, a photovoltaic system has been installed on a three-he...
22/10/2025
The Orion spacecraft for NASA's Artemis II mission is stacked on the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket in High Bay 3 of the Vehicle Assembly Building at Kenn...
22/10/2025
L3Harris' Hybrid SATCOM is resilient by design, offering path diversity that eliminates vulnerabilities by routing data across the best available networks i...
22/10/2025
WASHINGTON, D.C. Organizers of NAB Show New York said they are expecting more than 12,000 registered attendees from about 100 countries along with 260 exhibitor...
22/10/2025
WASHINGTON, D.C The organizers of The 2025 NAB Show New York have announced that they are expecting more than 12,000 registered attendees from about 100 countr...
22/10/2025
Masque Sound, a leading theatrical sound reinforcement, installation and design company, supplied an extensive gear package of professional-grade equipment for ...
22/10/2025
Lightware, a global leader in signal management and AV connectivity solutions, is seeing strong market momentum for the UCX-3x3-TPX-RX20, a compact transmitter-...
22/10/2025
MELVILLE, N.Y. Chyron has released PAINT 10.2, the latest update for its telestration platform, adding support for SMPTE ST 2110 IP workflows, expanding brandin...
22/10/2025
WASHINGTON Run3TV today said NBCUniversal is joining as an investor in the ATSC 3.0 Framework Authority, which develops the Run3TV NextGen TV application platfo...
22/10/2025
ATLANTA swXtch.io will feature two new networking solutions extending the company's reach across more cloud and on-prem workflows at NAB Show New York, set ...
22/10/2025
The Warner Bros. Discoverys HBO Max streaming services has increased prices for all its streaming tiers effectively immediately for new customers. Existing cust...
22/10/2025
LOS ANGELES OpenDrives has signed a new distribution partnership deal with Versatile Distribution Services (VDS) to strengthen its channel and streamline how it...
22/10/2025
WASHINGTON, D.C The organizers of The 2025 NAB Show New York have announced that they are expecting more than 12,000 registered attendees from about 100 countr...
22/10/2025
Samora Pinderhughes Brings Immersive Sound to Berklee's Signature Series The artist and composer, who's worked with Herbie Hancock, Robert Glasper, Co...
22/10/2025
BMI Day at Berklee Celebrates Composer Fil Eisler and Awards Scholarship to Stud...
22/10/2025
Rohde & Schwarz and TRUMPF cooperate in drone defense Rohde & Schwarz and TRUMPF partner to deliver a comprehensive drone defense solution combining Rohde & S...
22/10/2025
European Broadcaster Upgrades To Grass Valley's NativeIP LDX 135 Cameras And...
22/10/2025
Everyone Gets a Better Deal on Verizon with New FOX One Perk The $15 FOX One streaming service perk is yet another way Verizon continues to add savings for cu...
22/10/2025
First Look Hidden Assets Series 3
Premieres on 9th November 9:30pm on RT One & RT Player
WATCH HERE Promo Link: Hidden Assets Series 3 | RT
The Crimin...
21/10/2025
NAB New York 2025: Although AES Show Is on Its Own, Audio Will Be a Major Part o...
21/10/2025
NAB New York 2025: Business of Broadcast and Media,' Future of Content'...
21/10/2025
SVG All-Stars: Ethan Folz, Senior Director, Digital Operations and Quality of Ex...
21/10/2025
NBA on NBC/Peacock: Livestream Offers Graphic Overlays, Predictive Gaming, Ancil...
21/10/2025
NBA on NBC/Peacock: At the Front Bench With Producer Frank DiGraci and Director ...
21/10/2025
NBA on NBC/Peacock: NBC Sports, NEP Build Ultra-Flexible Production Plan That Se...
21/10/2025
Indigenous storytelling has been at the heart of the work of the Sundance Instit...
21/10/2025
Top L-R: Mysterious Skin, American Dream Second Row L-R: Little Miss Sunshine, D...
21/10/2025
Last week, Spotify and Columbia Records transformed Pier 4 at the Brooklyn Army ...
21/10/2025
SBS Learn's Dharug Ngurra resource empowers classrooms to meaningfully celeb...
21/10/2025
As global operators simplify and evolve their digital platforms, NPS improvement...
21/10/2025
Critical Design Review completion is a key milestone on the path toward Wideband Global Satellite Communications certification for the network in 2026, opening ...
21/10/2025
New Australian undersea training range to implement and improve warfighting tactics, proficiency and safety; enable joint/allied training that contributes to pr...
21/10/2025
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({...
21/10/2025
September, the beginning of autumn, brought an expected revival to the TV market, largely due to the new fall TV schedules. The time spent in front of the TV sc...
21/10/2025
Broadcast Booms with 20% Uptick vs. August, Achieving Largest Monthly
Increase ...
21/10/2025
During September, streaming's share of TV viewing in Mexico settled at 24.5%, a marginal shift of -0.5 share points from the previous month.
Disclaimer: YU...
21/10/2025
RENNES, France BBright and GlobalM have conducted a technical trial validating Ultra HD interoperability across the entire contribution chain in the cloud, achi...
21/10/2025
Kokusai Denki Electric America will mark the U.S. debut of a new 4K camera at the 2025 NAB New York, Oct. 22-23. Now available, the Z-HD6500-S1 UHD/HD productio...
21/10/2025
Triveni Digital, a trusted leader in ATSC 1.0 and 3.0 service delivery, data broadcasting, and quality assurance solutions, will showcase its entire NEXTGEN TV ...
21/10/2025
Radio Azzurra FM, longest-running radio station in the province of Novara, northwest Italy, has invested in an DHD SX2 audio routing and mixing console for inte...
21/10/2025
Globecast, the leading provider of broadcast, media and entertainment managed services, has announced the appointment of G Morgan as Executive Vice President of...
21/10/2025
Visual Data announces the appointment of Maz Al-Jumaili as Senior Vice President, Worldwide Localization, to advance client engagement, strategic partnerships, ...
There's a rough stone block at the western edge of the causeway that divides what was once Westlake Park. The stone is grouped in a plot next to two others: a taller block surmounted by a bronze general and a smaller one with a bronze newsboy. The general points across Wilshire Boulevard to the northwest. The newsboy, his back to the road, clutching a bundle of papers, shouts the latest headline to boaters on the lake in what is now MacArthur Park.
