SOUTH PARK BLOCK STATUES
(Scroll Down For Theodore Roosevelt Statue)
Formerly in the Park Blocks of Portland
Updated 9-10-206
Description & Significance:
This statue was the creation of American sculptor George Fite Waters, who has the distinction of being the last student of the great French sculptor Auguste Rodin. Waters is also noted for his sculpture of anti-slavery crusader John Brown in Osawatomie, Kansas. The ten-foot statue was one of several gifts, including the Joan of Arc statue at Coe Circle, from local physician Henry Waldo Coe to the city of Portland.
This 1927 bronze and granite statue with Lincoln’s head inclined and one leg well forward has been described as emanating “great energy and restrained power.” It stood on a tall granite base.
As our 16th president, Lincoln maintained the Union and defeated the Confederate forces in the Civil War during his 1861-1865 Presidency. He is remembered for his opposition to slavery, the 1863 Emancipation Proclamation, and the reunification of the United States.
Challenge:
The Lincoln statue was toppled in October 2020 by protesters and damaged extensively. The public was engaged in a 2024 Monuments Symposium and the statue will be returned by order of the former Portland city council. The statue’s repairs were completed in 2025 and paid for mostly by insurance. The city is working on returning the statue to the same site and getting support from the Access Recreation committee to improve its accessibility for all. The city says its also getting support from the Lincoln Institute and Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde for balanced, suitable text for interpretive signage, including a QR code to read more information.
Recently, the Regional Arts & Culture Council announced finalized plans to return the statue, but take it off its pedestal, which would remain near the now ground-level figure. The stated rationale is improved accessibility. But this decision, which comes as a complete surprise to the Historic Landmarks Commission, appears not to consider the extremely negative optics of "knocking Lincoln off his pedestal” and the potential publicity backlash it could generate for Portland. Logic would also suggest this move increases the likelihood of vandalism and wear and tear from being touched and climbed on. And finally, from an artistic perspective (literally), this is a work of art designed to be viewed from an elevated base. New approaches to making public art accessible is a worthy goal, but were these other concerns thought through?
Preferred outcome:
For the statue to be returned soon to its original site and pedestal, with interpretive information and appropriate accessibility that doesn’t denigrate, damage, or distort.
Decision maker:
On March 6, 2024, the city of Portland commissioners voted unanimously to restore the Lincoln statue and three other statues.
On Sept. 10, 2026
Following a heated public meeting hosted by the Portland Arts & Culture Committee, Mayor Wilson has ordered the Lincoln statue to be returned to its original pedestal. Check back for updates on when the reinstallation and interpretive signage will occur.
Action needed:
The Lincoln statue is one of Portland’s best-known works of public art given its prominent location in downtown Portland’s South Park Blocks for 93 years. However, the general public has never had an opportunity to address the proposal to remove Lincoln from his original pedestal and place him closer to the ground. We believe the City of Portland should hold a public hearing, well-publicized in advance, to give Portlanders a chance to comment on Lincoln’s ultimate placement, preferably by the City Council which bears the ultimate responsibility for the statue’s return.
From anecdotal information in social media accounts, we believe the public’s sentiment will strongly endorse returning the repaired statue to its original place on the 32-inch pedestal for which the statue was originally designed. Replacement of the statue can be accompanied by additional information, to the extent desired, about Lincoln’s role and importance as president. As an organization devoted to restoration and preservation of important landmarks and public spaces, we believe that returning Lincoln to the original pedestal is the proper course.
Find more information:
https://www.portland.gov/arts/monuments/whats-happening-citys-monuments/abraham-lincoln
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statue_of_Abraham_Lincoln_(Portland,_Oregon)
A Restored Lincoln Statue is Coming Back But Not Everyone Likes How: https://www.oregonlive.com/portland/2026/07/a-restored-lincoln-statue-is-coming-back-to-portland-but-not-everyone-likes-how.html
Updated 4-24-26
Description & Significance:
A bronze and granite work, this statue was installed in 1922, just three years after President Roosevelt’s death. The statue was the creation of Alexander Phimister Proctor, who was also a woodsman, hunter and student of Native American culture. His Beaux-Arts style works had a prominent place at the Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893. Writer Stuart Gunn wrote that Proctor created “a textured surface that created a rippling effect as light and shadow played over the surface of the sculpture, suggesting the illusion of a fleeting moment.”
The statue was one of a number of gifts from local physician Henry Waldo Coe to the city of Portland. Coe, whose wife was also a physician, was a confidant of Theodore Roosevelt (TR)and a leader in his short-lived Progressive party.
Roosevelt is portrayed as a colonel in military attire from the Spanish-American War in 1898. For some this is a troubling slice of his imperialist side. Yet without his rise to fame as a war hero, he likely would not become President of the United States only three years later. For many Portlanders of today, TR would still be admired as the first and greatest conservation President protecting vast wilderness areas for future generations:
As a progressive who supported many reforms, including food safety measures;
As a trust buster who did not let powerful industrialists oppress the lives of average Americans,
As a leading supporter of Edward Curtis’s life’s work of documenting clothing, customs and languages of as many indigenous cultures as he could.
However, Roosevelt’s legacy is complicated by support of eugenics, his interventionist foreign policy, and other matters.
Remarkably, there is a 28-minute silent film from 1922 called The Making of a Bronze Statue that documents the creation of this statue, step by step, including the use of stop motion. The film begins with the initial sketches by Proctor followed by steps taken by many workers over the course of the creation, including the enlargement of the small model by Japanese-American artist Gozo Kamamura as well as Italian artisans making the plaster mold. One sees every step, including the shipping and the arrival in Portland and its placement in the Park Blocks.
Challenge:
The statue was toppled and badly damaged by protesters in October 2020 and put into safe storage by the city.
Preferred outcome:
The statue should be returned to its original location with appropriate, historically vetted interpretive signage added.
Current status and timing:
According to a city official in April 2026, the statue’s return is assured but has been delayed. The city is looking for a foundry to do extensive repairs. Repair work itself is a process that will take a minimum of 18 months. Insurance will cover most of the expense. It will be returned to its original spot in the South Park Blocks with new interpretive signage in consultation with experts. The statue will return no earlier than 2028, possibly later.
Decision maker:
The city of Portland commissioners on March 6, 2024 voted unanimously to restore this statue and three others.
Action needed:
The AHC will monitor the reinstallation plan and advocate appropriately.
Find more information:
https://www.portland.gov/arts/monuments/whats-happening-citys-monuments/theodore-roosevelt
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theodore_Roosevelt,_Rough_Rider
The Making of a Bronze Statue https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPJZwlnw-rc
