The Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Monument is a public monument in
Portland, Maine
Portland is the List of municipalities in Maine, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine and the county seat, seat of Cumberland County, Maine, Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 at the 2020 census. The Portland metropolit ...
's
West End. Located on the corner of State and
Congress Street, it honors poet
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (February 27, 1807 – March 24, 1882) was an American poet and educator. His original works include the poems " Paul Revere's Ride", '' The Song of Hiawatha'', and '' Evangeline''. He was the first American to comp ...
, who was born in Portland in 1807. The intersection built around the monument is known as Longfellow Square.
Description
The Henry Wadsworth Longellow Monument occupies a triangular plaza formed at the southeast corner of Congress and State Streets in central Portland. The southeast side of the plaza is occupied by One Longfellow Square. The monument consists of a bronze statue of Longfellow, as seen late in his life, in a seated position, which is mounted on a granite pedestal. The pedestal is about in height, and has carved tablets on two sides, decorated with swags and garlands that frame the name "LONGFELLOW". Above these is a frieze band of anthemion and vines, with a cornice above that. The bronze statue is about in height, with Longfellow seated in a chair whose arms end in lion's heads, and a stack of books underneath. Longfellow wears an overcoat, and a cape is draped over his lap and one shoulder. One hand holds a manuscript, while the other is propped on the chair back, while Longfellow gazes at passersby.
History
Franklin Simmons began the design and construction of the monument in 1885, three years after the poet's death, with a pedestal designed by
Francis H. Fassett. The monument was unveiled on September 29, 1888.
[Shettleworth, Jr., Earle G. "Creating and Preserving Portland's Urban Landscape, 1885–1925", ''Creating Portland: History and Place in Northern New England''. Joseph Conforti, editor. University Press of New England, 2007: 251. ] The monument is considered to be one of Simmons' major commissions.
[ The monument was added to the ]National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
in April 1990.
Gallery
File:Longfellow_Square,_Portland,_ME.jpg, Longfellow Square on a postcard in 1906.
File:LongfellowMonument2.jpg, The Longfellow Monument in December 2010.
File:LongfellowMonument3.jpg, The Longfellow Monument in December 2010.
File:Longfellow Square, Portland Maine.jpg, Longfellow Square illuminated for the 2018 holiday season. Longfellow Monument is at right.
See also
* National Register of Historic Places listings in Portland, Maine
* Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Memorial in Washington, D. C.
References
External links
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Monument
MaineMemory.net
{{National Register of Historic Places
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Buildings and structures completed in 1888
Monuments and memorials in Portland, Maine
Monuments and memorials on the National Register of Historic Places in Maine
West End (Portland, Maine)
National Register of Historic Places in Portland, Maine
Longfellow
Sculptures of men in Maine
Bronze sculptures in Maine
Granite sculptures in Maine