Where is the Helmsman today?

     When baker Paul Helms moved from New York to California over 70 years, there was a chance he would not continue his life work due to his health.

It was a short period of time, however, before Helms began building a new bakery here, in 1930.

A “Helmsman” stood as an imposing presence on Venice Boulevard for many years. Rising out of the center median just north of the Helms Bakeries, the larger than life sculpture acted as a reminder of the famed bakery that straddled the Los Angeles and Culver City borders.

Helms Coaches began to deliver “Daily to your door” starting in 1931. They traversed south to San Diego, east to San Bernardino, north to Fresno and eventually, Helms bread made a trip on Apollo 11 to the moon.

Since the Olympic Village in Los Angeles for the 1932 Olympics was located nearby in Baldwin Hills, the Helms family was delighted to advertise their “Helms Olympic Bread” until the bakery closed its doors.

The Helms whistle, which signified their proximity was a welcomed sound. The drivers stopped at homes displaying their “H” sign to sell their baked goods.

       The Helmsman was probably taken for granted until he disappeared.

For a shot of nostalgia, one can visit the Helmsman’s imposing presence nearby at Burton W. Chace County Park at Marina del Rey.

The Paul Helms family donated the sculpture for display on Oct. 6, 1971 two years after the bakery closed. By 1975, the yacht club at the Marina, donated a needed new wooden Helm.

The sculpture, which appears in the Art Inventories Catalog of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, notes it as painted concrete, 10 feet tall, with a helm of wood, standing on a black granite base.

The artist is listed as Carl Romanelli. The date is uncertain, with its installation listed as 1931- 1950. The artist came from a lineage of sculptors, and his son, Carl, is well recognized in his own right.

The Civic Art Department of the Los Angeles County Arts Commission describes The Helmsman as “an approximately 10-foot tall cast concrete figure in staunch repose with both hands clenched on a wooden helm.

“His posture is tight, his body hunched over, and his expression determined. Although formerly the symbol of unfaltering delivery service of the Helms Bakery, the Helmsman fits perfectly in this maritime environment.”