HISTORIC LANDMARKS

La Salle Monument

The 22-foot-tall Rene Robert Cavellier Sieur de La Salle Monument in Indianola, a major project of the 1936 Texas Centennial, is one of the most artistically-distinct products of the statewide celebration of Texas history.  Sculptor Raoul Josset and architect Donald S. Nelson designed the memorial, one of 45 Centennial properties classified as a "monument," to commemorate the French explorer's landing place in Texas.  Completed during the height of his career, Josset's hybrid high relief and full-rounded sculptural interpretation of La Salle is unique for its stylized composition compared to the bronze neo-Classical statues expected for the centenary.  The scale and quality of La Salle are made more remarkable by its remote location on the Texas Gulf Coast.  Carved in pink granite by master carver Ugo "Hugo" Lavaggi, the monument is the largest figurative sculpture produced for the statewide celebration.  For two years, a controversy over property owner rights delayed and altered the original, modest plan until a statue of La Salle was awarded to Calhoun County in 1938.  Dedicated the following year on a remote stretch of beach at La Salle's alleged 1685 landing point (later the port city of Indianola), it was the last commemorative monument erected for the Texas Centennial.  

Source: Transcription from the document, National Register of Historic Places Registration Form, prepared by Bonnie Tipton Wilson on 1 November 2017; located on the website, Texas Historical Commission (http://thc.texas.gov), accessed on 20 July 2023.