Sculptor Frank Antone Martin was a plaster pattern maker for the aircraft industry, based in Inglewood, California. He'd dreamed of placing a giant, steel-reinforced concrete statue of Jesus perched over the rim of the Grand Canyon—and even went so far as to make it.
From a poem Martin wrote about the project (yes, he was a poet, too):
He fashioned an object of concrete and steel
To staunchly present his conviction and zeal;
The model he chose was the great Prince of Peace
Just standing there bidding all hatreds to cease.
Unfortunately, officials in charge of the Grand Canyon told him they didn't accept works from out-of-state artists.
Martin offered the statue to other venues, like Forest Lawn, which also turned him down. He started calling his monolithic Jesus figure "The Unwanted Christ."