Antioch statue of father and daughter vandalized again, removed
Depicted them watering City’s Official Flower; part of public art program
Former mayor, councilwomen who approved it in 1994 upset
By Allen D. Payton
Following damage and theft of the girl depicted in the “Hey Daddy, Look!” statue for a second time, the City of Antioch has announced it has removed the dad public art piece from its location on Lone Tree Way near James Donlon Blvd. The statue depicted the two holding a pail and watering a replica of the City’s Official Flower, the Antioch Dunes Evening Primrose, an endangered species that grows along the waterfront in the Antioch Dunes National Wildlife Refuge off of Fulton Shipyard Road.
The art piece was approved by the city council in 1994 at a cost of $150,000 and it was first vandalized in 2021. According to the City, “Toward the end of September 2021, Frostad Atelier Foundry in Sacramento was tasked with restoring this landmark statue due to vandalism (severing) of the dad’s hand and a watering pail. The restoration took approximately seven…months.”
“The patina, a green or brown film on the sculpture’s surface produced by oxidation over a long period, has also been restored as part of the process. Additionally, the installation of new primrose flowers has also been completed!”
A post on the City of Antioch’s Facebook page on Monday, April 7, 2025, reads: We’re saddened to share that one of Antioch’s cherished public art pieces — the “Hey Daddy, Look!” sculpture located on Lone Tree Way near James Donlon Blvd.— has been vandalized.
“Originally restored in 2022 at a cost of over $38,000, the bronze statue has stood as a symbol of joy and connection in our community. Sadly, on March 12, the City was notified that the statue of the little girl was stolen. Out of concern for further vandalism, City staff have since removed the remaining ‘dad’ statue for safekeeping.
“The Antioch Police Department has been notified, and a report has been filed. If you have any information or saw anything suspicious in the area, please contact Antioch PD at (925) 778-2441.
We know many residents loved and appreciated this piece of art. Please know that we’re actively looking into options for what comes next.
Let’s continue to look out for one another and our public spaces.”
Former Mayor, Councilwomen Upset with Vandalism
When reached for comment former Mayor Joel Keller, and Councilwomen Cathryn Freitas, Liz Rimbault and Mary Rocha, who voted to approve the statue, shared their frustration with the theft.
“I was an advocate for having public art be part of every subdivision and I was disappointed when I read that people had stolen a piece of public art that residents had paid for,” Freitas stated. “Nothing’s a free lunch. It’s just a shame.”
“They took the little girl to melt her down as bronze,” Rimbault posited. “That’s like when they were vandalizing the Cannery Lady Statue in Rivertown by stealing the plaques which were made of bronze. So, we replaced them with marble. One of them was cutup into several pieces and sold to a recycler but later recovered by the police. It’s now at the Historical Society Museum with the Cannery Lady display.”
“That was when Helen Meagher and Faye Curtis were heading up that effort,” she shared. “It was an entire art program that went up Lone Tree Way and came back down Hillcrest Avenue.”
“They included several mosaics on the wall on Hillcrest which used to get vandalized and were removed,” Rimbault continued. “Also, the silver sculpture (entitled, ‘Delta Moon’) at the (southeast) corner of Hillcrest and Lone Tree, the old man in the wagon pulled by a horse (entitled, ‘I Knew It Was Coming’ at Hillcrest and Laurel Road, which depicts him pointing at all the new people moving to town), the horses on the hill at Wild Horse Road (and Hillcrest, entitled, ‘The Spirit Rider of the Seasons’) the bears (on Hillcrest at Terrace View Avenue entitled, ‘Mother and Cub’) and the fountain (at the corner of Hillcrest and Deer Valley Road entitled either, ‘Elements’ or ‘Two Rivers’). Although, I don’t think that one was part of that art program.”
The City’s Art in Public Places program also included the blue lighted water drop, entitled simply, “Drop” at the entrance to Prewett Family Park where the Antioch Water Park is located, and the sculpture at the corner of Dallas Ranch Road and Rockspring Way possibly entitled either, “Delta Breeze” or “Delta Winds”.
“It’s just the state of the world, currently. Everybody’s hurting, thieves are running amok, we don’t have the police department at full strength and people are getting away with anything,” Rimbault added.
“It’s just too bad as it was an important part of Antioch’s past and future,” Keller stated. “Why people have to steal things it’s too bad. It’s part of what makes a city special, especially that particular statue. It was an uplifting statue and whoever stole it took that away from the public.”
Later, when reached for comment, Rocha said about the statue of the girl being stolen, “Oh, no. She was the cutest thing in it. She represented the future.”
“I’m sad. I go by there all the time,” she added.
See more of Antioch’s Public Art on the City’s website, here.
the attachments to this post:
Hey Look, Daddy street view before 2022 & after 040825
Hey Look, Daddy statue before 2022 plaque & after 040825
