Hyman was a San Francisco architect who obtained degrees at UC Berkeley and Columbia University. He continued his studies in Paris at the École des Beaux Arts

The monumental Lion of Belfort, which stands 36 feet high, was designed by the French artist Frédéric Bartholdi, sculptor of the Statue of Liberty. Located in the tiny capitol of Belfort, it was finished in 1880, and made entirely of red sandstone. The blocks were individually sculptued and then moved to the Belfort castle to be assembled. The sculpture symbolizes the French resistance during the seige of Belfort, a 103 day-long Prussian assault. During this heroic conflict, the city was protected from 40,000 Prussians by only 17,000 men led by the french Colonel Denfert-Rochereau