David of Sassoon

Fresno, California, United States

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Listed, not yet checked · Oct 2026

This Big Thing is recorded as still being here.

A copper equestrian statue of the Armenian epic hero David of Sassoun, sculpted by Varaz Samuelian and given to Fresno County in 1970 by the Armenian community of the San Joaquin Valley, stands at the corner of Tulare and M Streets in Courthouse Park.

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David of Sassoon

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Site-level location · 36.7351° N, 119.7871° W

FIELD GUIDE

The story

Shirtless on horseback, sword raised for battle, David of Sassoun looks out over the corner of Tulare and M Streets in downtown Fresno. He is the legendary hero of an Armenian folk epic, and this is his monument in downtown Fresno.

The inscription on the lower marker describes him as the legendary folk hero of the Armenians who rid their land of foreign conquerors single-handedly, in an epic based on events dating to the seventh century A.D. The statue is by Fresno sculptor Varaz Samuelian, and the upper plaque records that it was donated to the County of Fresno by the People of Armenian Descent of the San Joaquin Valley on August 11, 1970. The marker says it represents "a thousand Davids in a thousand lands."

The base carries the story of Armenia itself. The marker says it depicts the Armenian alphabet, churches, art and culture, and a history it dates to 782 B.C., when Yerevan was founded.

The Fresno Bee reported in January 2026 that the copper statue weighs two and a half tons. The Bee also quoted its own 1970 description of the statue: "all muscle and revenge, clawing hoofs and frozen terror." Samuelian, born in Armenia in 1917, was a close friend of the writer William Saroyan; he died in 1995. The same 2026 article says an unfinished concrete version of the statue also exists elsewhere in Fresno.

The statue stands on the east corner of the county courthouse grounds, near the Hall of Records.

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WHAT TO EXPECT

An outdoor statue on the courthouse grounds. Two plaques on the base give the dedication and the story of the hero. As a downtown public park it suits a short stop; no fee or hours are recorded for the statue itself.

ACCESS

At the corner of Tulare and M Streets, on the east corner of the Fresno County courthouse grounds (Courthouse Park) in downtown Fresno, near the Hall of Records.

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Forestiere Underground Gardens

Fresno, California

A hand-dug underground complex of rooms, courtyards and passageways at 5021 W Shaw Avenue, Fresno, begun by Sicilian immigrant Baldassare Forestiere in the early 1900s and worked on until his death in 1946. It is on the National Register and is visited by guided tour.

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8.6 km away

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