A statue named “Califia”, an art piece standing at the corner of Main Street and Market Street, welcomes people to Downtown Turlock.
The “Califia” statue, done by artist Donna Billick, was placed downtown in 2005. The garment covering Califia was made to represent Turlock and the Central Valley region, integrating the area’s agriculture into the cloak. Calafia, also known as Califia, is a fictional warrior queen from the mythical Island of California. Spanish writer Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo first introduced her in his popular novel entitled Las sergas de Esplandián. The name ‘California’ is most commonly believed to have come from this novel and the fictional Queen Califia, according to Ruth Putnam’s California: the name.
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That statue is the biggest eyesore in Turlock! To make matters worse…I have seen homeless people bathing in it!
I think the statue was/is a nice addition to downtown. The colors are wonderful and it evokes California’s wonderful cultural heritage. Lighten up Gina. BTW, ‘homelessness’ isn’t a dirty word but it is sad they have no other place to bathe than a public fountain.
Turlockers get scared it seems of any statues that are culturally or religiously different then bronze statues of local historical figures or Jesus.
So many of my friends and I hate the statue, it’s just so ugly! It doesn’t blend well at all. When it was first put in in 2005 I was about 6 or 7 and it gave me nightmares
Queen Califia is an excellent art addition to downtown. The city should put a nice light on it at night and filter the “hard water” so it doesn’t stain the ceramics.