Florence Nightingale Statue

The painted cast stone statue of Florence Nightingale standing before you was created in nineteen thirty seven as part of the federal government's Works Progress Administration. The sculptor, David Edstrom, designed the figure to depict the famous nurse during her nightly rounds, clutching the lamp that earned her the iconic nickname, The Lady with the Lamp. Before finding its permanent home here, the statue was displayed in the Court of the Seven Seas during the nineteen thirty nine Golden Gate International Exhibition. It was officially dedicated on National Hospital Day in May of that same year. Its location was intentionally chosen to face the Laguna Honda Hospital, serving as a symbolic tribute to the foundational role Nightingale played in the development of modern professional nursing.