Statues stand for something — it’s kind of the point of the artistic medium — and as such, a wide range of perspectives can be attached to them, unique to each individual.
Between the 2020 protests that followed the murder of George Floyd, and those that occurred during the “Indigenous Peoples Day of Rage,” five statues across Portland were toppled or damaged, and subsequently transferred into storage by the city. Today, these figures remain out of sight, awaiting their fate.
- “Abraham Lincoln,” 1927; granite, bronze. Formerly located in the South Park Blocks.
- “George Washington,” 1926; granite, bronze. Formerly located at the Intersection of Northeast 57th Avenue and Sandy Boulevard, outside the German American Society.
- “Harvey Scott,” 1933; bronze on a basalt pedestal. Formerly located on the summit of Mount Tabor in Mt. Tabor Park.
- “Promised Land,” 1993; bronze on a granite plinth. Formerly located at the center of Chapman Square in downtown, directly west of the Justice Center.
- “Theodore Roosevelt, Rough Rider,” 1922; granite, bronze. Formerly located in the South Park Blocks between Madison and Jefferson streets.
To best address how to handle existing statues and inform future decisions, the City Arts Program called a meeting in early 2023 of the Portland Monuments Project, a group “made up of diverse and highly skilled individuals whose research and practice engage with community dialogue, including monuments, memorialization, public space, and art.”
In June, they shared their report containing insights based on “discussion, outreach, research, and contemplation by committed Portland citizens.” After a series of Art Talks hosted in November, the city is once again casting a wider net for feedback on a variety of policy decisions to come in summer 2024.
This includes the aforementioned statues, and you can provide your input on them with this survey.
You can also sign up for the City Arts Program’s monthly newsletter to stay informed on the broader monuments process and other arts and culture updates in Portland.
