An old statue of a woman holding a bird on her wrist standing atop a fountain pedestal is sited in front of the old museum (3582 Mission Inn Avenue, Riverside, CA) and across from the Cheech Museum. The plaque at the base of the statue says, "Presented to the City by the W.C.T.U. of Riverside 1907. The WCTU stands for Woman's Christian Temperance Union, an active religious and temperance organization of that era. A label on the base indicates that the statue is from the J.W. Fiske company of New York which specialized in cast iron and zinc at the second half of the 19th century.
From a Downtown Riverside Historic Walking Guide produced by Riverside Downtown Partnership, "The Temperance Fountain, which currently sits in front of the museum, was gifted to the City of Riverside by the Women’s Christian Temperance Union in 1907. The fountain was originally placed in front of the old YMCA building on University Avenue and Lemon Street and it is likely that the WTCU chose this location in hopes that the fountain would deter young men from visiting the local saloons."
A similar sculpture went up for auction recently with this description, "Fiske garden or drinking fountain with a painted zinc figure of Virtue, standing atop a painted cast iron columnar base. The zinc sculpture of the woman, likely the Greek deity of virtue known as Arete, holding a bird, is possibly after a design by George Fisher & Bro. (1867-1901). The base of the zinc figure reads: J. W. FISKE 26.28 PARK PLACE NEW YORK."
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