A Denver-based cryptocurrency investor has unveiled plans to build a 450-foot statue of the Greek god Prometheus on Alcatraz Island — a project that, if realized, would tower over San Francisco Bay and stand even taller than the Statue of Liberty.
Ross Calvin, founder of the Bitcoin mining firm Parhelion, is spearheading the proposal through his nonprofit American Colossus Foundation, which describes itself as promoting “a cultural renaissance of civilizational power through creativity, self-sovereignty and future-thinking.”
The plan envisions a nickel-bronze monument rising high enough for the figure’s head to nearly eclipse the Golden Gate Bridge — making it San Francisco’s symbolic answer to the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor.
News of Calvin’s proposal was first reported by Bloomberg News.
The project, titled “The Great Colossus of Prometheus on Alcatraz,” would cost an estimated $450 million and include a technology museum on the island.
In Greek mythology, Prometheus is the Titan who stole fire from the gods and gave it to mankind.
Calvin has described the figure as a “titan of innovative progress” and a “monument to American manifest destiny” that celebrates the liberating forces of technology and entrepreneurship.
“Standing taller than the Statue of Liberty, our monument inaugurates a new golden age, revering creativity and the heroic nature of man,” Calvin wrote on the foundation’s website.
“It unapologetically symbolizes a brilliant, optimistic American future, calling us to visionary thinking, bold achievement, and forging this new world into a powerful ideal.”
To move forward, the project would require federal approval to reclassify Alcatraz — currently a national park — as a national monument.
Calvin has said he plans to present renderings and a formal proposal to President Trump’s team by the end of January.
He has said that the idea of a Prometheus monument on Alcatraz dates back to his childhood when he first sailed past the island and imagined “a perfect place for a symbol of triumph and beauty.”
If completed, the statue would stand roughly 150 feet taller than the Statue of Liberty, which measures 305 feet from pedestal to torch.
Alcatraz was once America’s most infamous federal penitentiary, housing criminals like Al Capone and George “Machine Gun” Kelly before it was shuttered for good in 1963.
Originally a military fort, it later became a federal prison known for its isolation and failed escape attempts.
The notorious island has inspired several Hollywood blockbuster films, including “The Rock” with Sean Connery and Nicolas Cage and the 1979 classic film “Escape from Alcatraz,” starring Clint Eastwood.
Trump has proposed reopening and expanding Alcatraz as a high-security facility for violent offenders and people he deems unlawful entrants to the US.
The plan, estimated to cost over $2 billion, has prompted engineering reviews and site visits by federal officials but faces logistical and legal hurdles due to the island’s protected historic status.
Critics argue the project is impractical and politically motivated, though the administration continues to explore its feasibility.
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