Almost No One Knows the True Story of this Iconic Pleasant Hill Monument

If you’ve ever sat in traffic at the corner of Boyd Road and Contra Costa Boulevard, you’ve stared right at it: a 45-foot concrete obelisk rising like a silent sentinel over the suburban sprawl. It is the Soldier’s Memorial, perhaps the most recognizable landmark in Pleasant Hill.

But while thousands of commuters pass it daily, very few know that this monument is a “traveler” itself—or that it hides a radical social statement and a secret interior that hasn’t been seen by the public in decades.

1. The Monument That Lost Its Road

The most obvious mystery is the name of the nearby thoroughfare: Monument Boulevard. If you follow that road to its end, you won’t find the monument.

Originally dedicated on December 11, 1927, the memorial stood at the dead center of the intersection of what was then Victory Highway (now Monument Blvd) and Redwood Road. For decades, it served as the unofficial “Welcome to Pleasant Hill” sign. In an era before GPS or even standard road signs, travelers were told to “look for the monument” to know they had reached the village.

However, in 1954, the “Progress” of the post-war era came knocking. The state needed to widen Route 21 (which we now know as I-680). Rather than demolish the 150-ton concrete giant, engineers performed a miracle of mid-century moving, shifting the entire structure several blocks north to its current home on Boyd Road. The monument moved, but the street name stayed put, creating a geographic riddle for every newcomer to the East Bay.

2. A Radical Statement in 1927

Look closely at the four bas-relief figures near the top of the spire. They depict soldiers in trench coats and helmets, rifles in hand.

In 1927, the United States was deeply segregated, and the military would not be integrated for another twenty years. Yet, if you look at the south face of the monument, you will see something remarkable for its time: one of the four soldiers is African American.

This wasn’t an accident. The monument was a collaboration between sculptors Ward Montague and the legendary Ralph Stackpole. Stackpole was a progressive artist and a close friend of Mexican muralist Diego Rivera. By including a Black soldier among the “three white soldiers,” the artists made a quiet but profound statement: that the 6,341 residents of Contra Costa County who served in WWI—and the 77 who died—represented all of the community, regardless of race.

3. The “Secret” Staircase

Perhaps the most tantalizing “true story” of the memorial is what lies inside. To most, it looks like a solid block of concrete. In reality, the Soldier’s Memorial is hollow.

Behind a small, unassuming door at the base lies a narrow spiral staircase. In the early days of the monument, this staircase led to an open-air observation deck at the very top. From that height, visitors in the 1920s could look out over a landscape of pear orchards and vineyards that stretched all the way to the base of Mount Diablo.

Due to safety concerns and the changing landscape of the intersection, the interior was sealed off to the public decades ago. Today, the staircase remains a “time capsule,” accessible only to maintenance crews, holding the ghosts of a view that no longer exists.

4. The Man Behind the Stone

While we view it as a war memorial, the monument was actually the passion project of one man: Sheriff Richard R. Veale.

Veale spent ten years campaigning to raise the $35,000 needed for the project (nearly $600,000 in today’s money). He didn’t just want a plaque; he wanted a “Beacon of Memory.” He even convinced 500 local automobile owners to donate just to get the project off the ground. When it was finally dedicated, it drew a crowd of 3,000 people—the largest gathering in the history of Pleasant Hill at that time.

The next time you’re stuck at that red light on Contra Costa Blvd, look up. You aren’t just looking at a slab of concrete. You’re looking at a 150-ton traveler, a hidden skyscraper, and a 100-year-old plea for equality that was carved into stone long before the rest of the country was ready to hear it.