At the top of the monument stands a large female figure of Minerva, the Roman goddess of wisdom and war, alongside a California grizzly bear.

[9] At this time, the California coast was dependent on the fishing, whaling, shipping, and transportation businesses that operated out of the surrounding waterway.

Dating back to Greek and Roman mythology, the full cornucopia she holds in her left hand is a symbol of good fortune.

[12] Originally, James Lick had wanted the statue to be led by Commerce or Plenty to represent the importance of agriculture in the development of California.

[12] It was later decided by Happersberger that "In '49'" was a more appropriate leader for the monument because it was metal that drove pioneers to the "Golden State" (i.e. California) rather than agricultural opportunities.

[15] When he returned to the United States in 1848, he made a fortune by investing and selling real estate in San Francisco during the gold rush.

[16] In 1873, Lick was seventy-seven years old and decided to start donating his properties and fortune to philanthropic groups in exchange for a tribute to his success.

[4] In September 1890, the Trustees for the Lick estate selected a model by sculptor Frank Happersberger from a field of four artist submissions and twenty-eight design entries.

[18] The cornerstone of the monument was laid and statuary dedicated on Monday, September 10, 1894 by the Lick Trustees, Society of California Pioneers and Native Sons of the Golden West[19] at Marshall Square, near the intersection of Hyde and Grove, in front of the Old City Hall (which was later destroyed by the earthquake of 1906).

[21] At the time, the statue was surrounded by a parking lot, seedy pornographic theaters and fast-food restaurants along Market Street.

[6] In 1991, twenty heavy-duty steel carrying beams were used to transport the statue one block to the middle of Fulton Street, where it currently stands between the old and new libraries and across a park from the City Hall.