Angela Romero is fundraising
Bukowski in Bronze
San Pedro Heritage Museum Launches Bukowski in Bronze Campaign on August 16, 2019
Charles Bukowski Monument to be built by his 100th Birthday One Year Later
San Pedro, CA— The San Pedro Heritage Museum is pleased to announce the launch of Bukowski in Bronze, a campaign to erect a statue memorializing the port town’s beloved literary treasure, Charles Bukowski, by his 100th birthday on August 16, 2020.
The Go Fund Me campaign and fundraising effort kicks off on his 99th birthday 7pm Friday, August 16, with a celebration at Sacred Grounds Coffee Shop, 468 W. 6th Street, San Pedro, 90731, steps away from where Bukowski famously stunned fans when he showed up to a birthday party thrown for him by local bookstore Vinegar Hill Books.
The campaign is supported by the office of Los Angeles City Councilman Joe Buscaino, the San Pedro Chamber of Commerce, the San Pedro Business Improvement District, the San Pedro Waterfront Arts District, Grandvision Foundation and Angels Gate Cultural Center.
Bukowski in Bronze is the brainchild of San Pedro Heritage Museum founder and historian Angela Romero, who saw the need to create a gathering place where fans could honor his legacy in the place he made his final home other than his gravesite. It was during his years in San Pedro from 1978 until his death in 1994 that Bukowski wrote his most prolific and reflective works, including Ham on Rye and The Last Night of the Earth Poems.
“Building a Bukowski monument is long overdue,” said LA City Councilmember Joe Buscaino. “There is a lot of momentum in downtown San Pedro, and there has never been a better opportunity to make the Bukowski monument a reality.”
For this unprecedented endeavor, the San Pedro Heritage Museum has enlisted world-renowned sculptor and San Pedro resident Eugene Daub to work on monument renderings. Daub is known for works including his 2013 statue of civil rights icon Rosa Parks in the National Statuary Hall in Washington, D.C., and his 2000 monument commemorating the Lewis and Clark expedition at Case Park in Kansas City, Missouri. The Bukowski Bronze Go Fund Me campaign aims to raise $250,000 to cover all the costs. www.GoFundMe.com/Bukowski
“There is a kinship between Bukowski and San Pedro,” said Romero, who also leads historical walking tours and is a lifelong San Pedro resident. “For the city and the poet, authenticity is prized above all else, beauty comes from honesty, and the best of life is the manifestation of that.”
The final statue design will be a collaboration between Daub and Bukowski’s widow, Linda Lee Bukowski, who has given the Heritage Museum her blessing for the project. A short documentary of the two collaborating is published in the GoFundMe campaign.
Born in Andernach, Germany in 1920, Bukowski moved to Los Angeles when he was three years old. He grew up to become one of the most prolific poets, short story writers and novelists of his time, known for his gritty depiction of life in Los Angeles.
Like shipbuilders and longshoremen before him, in 1978, Bukowski came to San Pedro to work — not on the docks, though he could see them from his second-story writing room as he sat at his customized typewriter. It was during his years in San Pedro that Bukowski wrote his most prolific and reflective works. Bukowski died on March 9, 1994 of leukemia and was buried at nearby Green Hills Memorial Park.
Fans of Bukowski travel to San Pedro from all around the world looking for a way to feel close to a man whose words touched them so deeply. They’re looking to experience even a small part of the town he chose as his final home. There is no better place for a monument to Bukowski than within the downtown arts district, among many sites he frequented, such as Senfuku Sushi.
“A Bukowski monument would become an instant landmark,” said Romero. “Not only would it honor the life he lived in San Pedro, it would also give fans a central place to gather and connect with him for years to come.”
To make a donation to the Bukowski in Bronze Campaign, please visit: www.GoFundMe.com/Bukowski
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About the San Pedro Heritage Museum
The San Pedro Heritage Museum is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 2018 to identify, preserve and promote the unique history and culture of the portside community of San Pedro, California. The nonprofit currently offers educational programming and pop-up exhibits, with the goal of opening a permanent, brick-and-mortar museum for generations to enjoy.
For more information, visit sanpedroheritagemuseum.org
Charles Bukowski Monument to be built by his 100th Birthday One Year Later
San Pedro, CA— The San Pedro Heritage Museum is pleased to announce the launch of Bukowski in Bronze, a campaign to erect a statue memorializing the port town’s beloved literary treasure, Charles Bukowski, by his 100th birthday on August 16, 2020.
The Go Fund Me campaign and fundraising effort kicks off on his 99th birthday 7pm Friday, August 16, with a celebration at Sacred Grounds Coffee Shop, 468 W. 6th Street, San Pedro, 90731, steps away from where Bukowski famously stunned fans when he showed up to a birthday party thrown for him by local bookstore Vinegar Hill Books.
The campaign is supported by the office of Los Angeles City Councilman Joe Buscaino, the San Pedro Chamber of Commerce, the San Pedro Business Improvement District, the San Pedro Waterfront Arts District, Grandvision Foundation and Angels Gate Cultural Center.
Bukowski in Bronze is the brainchild of San Pedro Heritage Museum founder and historian Angela Romero, who saw the need to create a gathering place where fans could honor his legacy in the place he made his final home other than his gravesite. It was during his years in San Pedro from 1978 until his death in 1994 that Bukowski wrote his most prolific and reflective works, including Ham on Rye and The Last Night of the Earth Poems.
“Building a Bukowski monument is long overdue,” said LA City Councilmember Joe Buscaino. “There is a lot of momentum in downtown San Pedro, and there has never been a better opportunity to make the Bukowski monument a reality.”
For this unprecedented endeavor, the San Pedro Heritage Museum has enlisted world-renowned sculptor and San Pedro resident Eugene Daub to work on monument renderings. Daub is known for works including his 2013 statue of civil rights icon Rosa Parks in the National Statuary Hall in Washington, D.C., and his 2000 monument commemorating the Lewis and Clark expedition at Case Park in Kansas City, Missouri. The Bukowski Bronze Go Fund Me campaign aims to raise $250,000 to cover all the costs. www.GoFundMe.com/Bukowski
“There is a kinship between Bukowski and San Pedro,” said Romero, who also leads historical walking tours and is a lifelong San Pedro resident. “For the city and the poet, authenticity is prized above all else, beauty comes from honesty, and the best of life is the manifestation of that.”
The final statue design will be a collaboration between Daub and Bukowski’s widow, Linda Lee Bukowski, who has given the Heritage Museum her blessing for the project. A short documentary of the two collaborating is published in the GoFundMe campaign.
Born in Andernach, Germany in 1920, Bukowski moved to Los Angeles when he was three years old. He grew up to become one of the most prolific poets, short story writers and novelists of his time, known for his gritty depiction of life in Los Angeles.
Like shipbuilders and longshoremen before him, in 1978, Bukowski came to San Pedro to work — not on the docks, though he could see them from his second-story writing room as he sat at his customized typewriter. It was during his years in San Pedro that Bukowski wrote his most prolific and reflective works. Bukowski died on March 9, 1994 of leukemia and was buried at nearby Green Hills Memorial Park.
Fans of Bukowski travel to San Pedro from all around the world looking for a way to feel close to a man whose words touched them so deeply. They’re looking to experience even a small part of the town he chose as his final home. There is no better place for a monument to Bukowski than within the downtown arts district, among many sites he frequented, such as Senfuku Sushi.
“A Bukowski monument would become an instant landmark,” said Romero. “Not only would it honor the life he lived in San Pedro, it would also give fans a central place to gather and connect with him for years to come.”
To make a donation to the Bukowski in Bronze Campaign, please visit: www.GoFundMe.com/Bukowski
###
About the San Pedro Heritage Museum
The San Pedro Heritage Museum is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 2018 to identify, preserve and promote the unique history and culture of the portside community of San Pedro, California. The nonprofit currently offers educational programming and pop-up exhibits, with the goal of opening a permanent, brick-and-mortar museum for generations to enjoy.
For more information, visit sanpedroheritagemuseum.org
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