The City of Portland's definition of public monuments refers to three-dimensional, publicly displayed works of art or structures that memorialize or honor a specific person, place, or event. Public monuments specifically serve as commemorative structures, often carrying cultural, historical, and/or social significance. Given this context, public monuments are distinct from other forms of public art—like murals or informational plaques within parks—which are both primarily designed to spur conversations between Portlanders and/or provide educational content.
Managed by the Office of Arts & Culture, the City of Portland's 1,700-piece public art collection features 23 monuments, including:
Abraham Lincoln
- Artist: George Fite Waters, American, 1894-1961
- Date: 1927
- Dimensions: 10' x 4' x 4'
- Location: Offsite
- Material: Bronze
George Waters’ sculpture of Abraham Lincoln depicts the president during his Civil War years, somberly reflecting the divided state of the Union. The sculpture was the last gift donated to the City of Portland by Dr. Henry Waldo Coe, who donated numerous sculptures including “George Washington” “Theodore Roosevelt, Rough Rider,” and “Joan of Arc” with a vision to beautify the city. The piece was cast at the famous foundry of Claude Valsuani in France on Lincoln’s birthday in 1927. George Waters, born in San Francisco, studied at the Art Students League in New York and later under Rodin in Paris.
Araminta - Carrying People to Safety
- Artist: James Harrison
- Date: 2004
- Dimensions, base: 2.5'
- Dimensions, height: 20'
- Location: Fire Station 28, 5540 NE Sandy Blvd.
- Material: Bronze, stainless steel, art glass, and neon
Beverly Cleary Sculpture Garden for Children
- Artist: Lee Hunt
- Date: 1996
- Dimensions, base: 4.5' x 3' x 2'
- Location: Grant Park, NE 33rd Avenue and NE US Grant Place
- Material: Bronze
Tucked into the west side of Grant Park in Northeast Portland, the Beverly Cleary Sculpture Garden celebrates the timeless stories of one of Portland’s most beloved authors. At the heart of the garden, three bronze sculptures—Ramona Quimby, Henry Huggins, and Henry’s dog Ribsy—bring Cleary’s iconic characters to life. Created by Portland artist Lee Hunt, the statues are arranged around a playful splash fountain. Surrounding them, engraved granite plaques feature the titles of Cleary’s books set in Portland. The garden was officially dedicated on October 13, 1995, and continues to be a tribute to Cleary’s enduring legacy in children's literature.
Gift of the Friends of Henry’s & Ramona’s Neighborhood
Coming of the White Man
- Artist: Herman Atkins MacNeil, American, 1866-1947
- Date: 1904
- Dimensions, base: 5'6" x 7'6" x 9'6"
- Location: Washington Park, SW Washington Way
- Material: Bronze
Hermon Atkins MacNeils’s “The Coming of the White Man” was a gift of former Mayor David Thompson 1904. It depicts Chief Multnomah and a young man gazing directly towards the Columbia River Gap as it was breached by Lewis and Clark. MacNeil studied sculpture in Paris and Rome and is best known for his sculptures of Native Americans and Western pioneers.
Constellation
- Artist: Tad Savinar, American, born 1950
- Date: 2000
- Location: Holladay Park, NE 11th Avenue and NE Holladay Street
- Material: Bronze
Elk
- Artist: Roland Hinton Perry, American, 1870-1940
- Date: 1900
- Dimensions: 9' x 9' x 6'
- Location: Offsite
- Material: Bronze
The 3,000-pound Elk was a gift to the City of Portland by former Mayor David P. Thompson. As founder and director of the Oregon Humane Society, Thompson's vision for the sculpture was to provide an accessible watering place for "bird, beast, and human." He commissioned artist Roland Perry to create the sculpture and placed it in a site that was a former feeding ground for elk that wandered down from the west hills of the city. The work is the second oldest sculpture located in the Portland metropolitan area. It was created in the horse and buggy era of Portland and would have originally been used as a
place to rest and water horses. Over time Portlanders have become quite proud of this landmark sculpture.
The Regional Arts & Culture Council removed the bronze elk statue from its perch and salvaged the remaining undamaged stonework in July 2020 after fires set in its base posed a risk of toppling the structure. The City of Portland's Water Bureau is repairing the historic Thompson Elk Fountain and returning the Elk statue to its original location on SW Main Street.
Learn more about the Thompson Elk Fountain restoration project
Frank Beach Memorial Fountain
- Artist: Lee Kelly, American, 1932-2022
- Date: 1975
- Dimensions: 12'
- Location: Washington Park, Rose Garden
- Material: Stainless steel
This sculpture was created to honor the memory of Frank E. Beach (1853-1934) who christened Portland “The Rose City” and who first proposed the annual Rose Festival.
Lee Kelly was a prolific sculptor whose influential work can be found throughout Portland and the Pacific Northwest. Kelly described his sculptural process as putting the energy of Abstract Expression into three dimensional form. Born in Idaho, he attended the Portland Art Museum School in the fifties and worked and taught in the Portland region for decades.
Gift of Frank L. Beach and the estate of Ruth B. Mehlin
George Washington
- Artist: Pompeo Coppini, American (born Italy), 1870-1957
- Date: 1926
- Dimensions: 95" x 48" x 48"
- Dimensions, base:95" x 84" x 84"
- Location: Offsite
- Material: Bronze
Pompeo Coppini’s “George Washington”, was donated to Portland by Dr. Henry Waldo Coe, who has donated numerous sculptures to the city including “Abraham Lincoln” and “Joan of Arc” at the 39th and Glisan traffic circle, with a vision to beautify the city. Coppini, originally from Italy, studied sculpture at the Accademia di Belle Arte. He immigrated to the US in 1898 and became a citizen in 1902. He worked prolifically in Texas, Chicago, and New York creating monuments and portraits that can be found across the nation. He founded the Coppini Academy of Fine Arts in San Antonio.
Harvey W. Scott
- Artist: Gutzon Borglum, American, 1867-1941
- Date: 1933
- Dimensions, height of bronze without base:11'
- Dimensions, base:5' x 7'
- Location: Offsite
- Material: Bronze
Gutzon Borglum who is most known as the sculptor of Mt. Rushmore, created this bronze sculpture of Harvey W. Scott (1838-1910). Scott was most remembered as the editor of the Oregonian, a position he held for over 40 years. Scott’s direct, often dogmatic, writing style was influential on regional politics. He helped shape the Oregonian’s conservative perspective on such issues as women’s suffrage (which he opposed) and the labor movement. His skill as a journalist and editor brought the Oregonian national recognition. Scott was also an intense enthusiast of the Pacific Northwest, although his focus centered on a white Pioneer, taming of the west perspective that did not acknowledge the destruction and change that the “settling of the West” had on Native Americans populations.
Harvey W. Scott was sculpted in 1930 during the same period that Gutzon Borglum was working on Mt. Rushmore. Borglum has created more art displayed in Washington D.C. than any other artist and also designed the flickering flame on the Statue of Liberty’s torch.
As part of the Portland Monuments Project, this work is currently under consideration for deaccession.
Historic Black Williams Project
- Artist: Kayin Talton Davis, American, born 1980
- Date: 2017
- Dimensions, each:12" x 18"
- Location: N Williams Avenue between NE Broadway Avenue and NE Killingsworth Street
- Material: Porcelain enamel on steel
The Historic Black Williams Project acknowledges the complex and changing history of Williams Avenue and honors the role Portland’s Black community has played in this history. Home to Portland’s largest Black community for most of the 20th century, Williams Avenue included a concentration of thriving and active community institutions. Only a handful of these still exist, but their history and the values of the people that built and cherished them live on.The art installation includes 30 mounted signs and 10 sidewalk tiles on Williams Avenue between NE Broadway and N Killingsworth that represent the history and values of Black Portland. We hope this history inspires new intergenerational and cultural exchanges and sparks new initiatives and entrepreneurial endeavors to strengthen Portland’s Black community.
Learn more about the Black Williams Project
Honey In the Bee Ball - I Can't See Y'all
- Artist: Isaka Shamsud-Din, American, born 1940
- Date: 2017
- Dimensions, each:34.5" x 40.5"
- Location: Dawson Park, 1 N Stanton St.
- Material: Cast concrete
My humble testament and homage to a few African American men and women whose works vividly portray the highest ideals. Spirit, courage, creative, resilient, resourceful are just some attributes that apply. In a difficult, sometimes hostile environment. Their legacy of achievement and positive force impacted our community and beyond. May this art inspire others to inquire and discover to further illuminate our sheroes and heroes. We will all be enriched. The phrase “honey in the bee ball, I can’t see y’all” was used in the South during the game of Hide and Seek. It was replaced by “ready or not, here I come” when brought North —some of us—.
Joan of Arc
- Artist: Emmanuel Frémiet, French, 1824-1910
- Date: 1924
- Dimensions, base:9' x 9' x 5'
- Dimensions, sculpture: 15' x 7'6" x 5'
- Location: Coe Circle, median
- Material: Bronze, copper, and gold leaf
In 1924, after seeing the Joan of Arc sculpture in Paris, Dr. Henry Waldo Coe commissioned a casting of this sculpture as a monument to the Portland area World War One Doughboys—the American Expeditionary Forces— who were closely allied with the French. A dedication was held on May 30,1925, with a reading of remarks from President Calvin Coolidge and French President Gaston Doumergue.
The sculpture was rededicated in May 2002 following a major restoration project that came about after nearly three years of grassroots planning and fundraising. Generous support came from a Save Outdoor Sculpture! grant, the Target Stores, the National Endowment for the Arts, matching funds from Providence Health Systems, and citizens from the community.
Oregon Holocaust Memorial
- Artist: Tad Savinar, American, born 1950
- Date: 2004
- Dimensions, wall: 108" x 168" x 336"
- Location: Washington Park
- Material: Black granite, bronze
The Oregon Holocaust Memorial Garden was initiated in 1994 by a small group of Portland area holocaust survivors who had the idea to create a place where relatives and all others who perished could find a final resting place. They formed the Oregon Holocaust Memorial Coalition to guide the project with the mission to “dedicate themselves to immortalizing in stone not only the past history of genocide, but to teach current and future generations that we each have a responsibility to recognize and then help eradicate the hatred and bigotry surrounding us daily.”
The work was designed to resemble a European town square, littered with the remnants of a family forced to flee home. From the town square a walkway leads to a large wall featuring the memories of holocaust survivors living in Oregon and the names of relatives lost to Oregonians. The piece terminates with a pillar placed on soil brought in from the six main concentration camps. The design is meant to mirror the journey of holocaust victims and survivors. The site for the memorial was donated by the City of Portland and the memorial was dedicated on August 29. 2004.
Peace Chant
- Artist: Steven Gillman
- Date: 1984
- Location: South Park Blocks, SW Park Avenue and SW Columbia Street
- Material: Granite
Steve Gillman’s “Peace Chant” is the first known peace memorial in Oregon. Gillman designed the sculpture to create a space where people could sit and have quiet time. In his work, he uses the nature of the stone to create a feeling of space and time, juxtaposing natural, manmade, and architectural elements to remind of us of man’s place in nature. The following poem was chosen by Gillman to be displayed alongside the finished work.
Let us be “Called...by the hopes of children
to a world of endless wheat and barley sugar...
whatever--the skies now lifted
and the poppies bloomed
and the men and women fed the children
and the long long lives of elders
kept the history green.”
©1983, Educators for Social Responsibility
Promised Land
- Artist: David Manuel, American, born 1940
- Date: 1993
- Dimensions, base: 32" x 8'10" x 10'2"
- Dimensions, sculpture: 98" x 62" x 51"
- Location: Offsite
- Material: Bronze
River Guardian
- Artist: Lillian Pitt, American (Wasco/Yakama/Warm Springs), born 1943 and Mikkel Hilde, American, born 1947
- Date: 2016
- Dimensions: 9'6" x 20" x 16"
- Location: South Waterfront Greenway, near SW Pennoyer Street
- Material: Mild steel, copper, glass
Watching over the flowing river, the mountains, and all passersby, "River Guardian" stands as tribute to the resilience and enduring presence of native peoples. The form draws inspiration from the "shadow spirit" images found in petroglyphs and pictographs along the rock walls of the Columbia River Gorge, and by the stories, legends, and traditions that have been passed down for 10,000 years. The intent is to inspire all park users-evoking thoughtful reflection, playfulness, deeper understanding, and repose. "River Guardian" is a comforting presence and an anchor providing a sense of continuity in an everchanging world.
Royal Rosarian
- Artist: Bill Bane, American, born 1942
- Date: 2011
- Dimensions: 76" x 26" x 20"
- Location: Washington Park, Rose Garden
- Material: Bronze
The Royal Rosarian installed in the International Rose Test Garden is a remarkably lifelike sculpture created by Oregon artist Bill Bane, and was commissioned by the Royal Rosarians and the Royal Rosarian Foundation to mark the organization’s 100th year. Dedicated to community service, the Royal Rosarians are a nonprofit civic group that also serves, by mayoral proclamation, as official Ambassadors of Goodwill for the City of Portland and the Portland Rose Festival.
Sacajawea and Jean-Baptiste
- Artist: Alice Cooper, American, 1875-1937
- Date: 1905
- Dimensions: 7' x 3.5' x 3'
- Location: Washington Park, Lewis & Clark Circle
- Material: Bronze
Sacajawea and Jean-Baptiste was commissioned by the Committee of Portland Women as the centerpiece for the Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition to represent “the only woman in the Lewis and Clark Expedition and in honor of the pioneer mother of old Oregon.” It originally stood in the center of the Plaza at the Lewis and Clark Fair in 1905, at the end of which, it was moved to Washington Park. Sacajawea was a Shoshone woman who guided Lewis and Clark in their journey westward. At the time this sculpture was commissioned, equal suffrage was not yet in effect and the women of Oregon were still fighting for the right to vote. Many prominent women suffragists were present at its dedication including, Susan B. Anthony, Rev. Anna Shaw and Mrs. Abigail Scott Duniway. Funds for the work were raised by women across the western states. Alice Cooper of Denver was selected to design the work. She is the first woman artist to be represented in Portland’s Public Art Collection.
Second Oregon Company Volunteers
- Artist: John Beaver
- Date: 1914
- Dimensions: 89" x 63" x 31"
- Location: Lownsdale Square, SW 4th Avenue (between SW Salmon Street and SW Main Street)
- Material: Bronze and limestone
This sculpture is a memorial monument honoring the Second Oregon Volunteer Infantry, called into action by President William McKinley to provide a regiment of volunteer troops to serve in the Spanish American War. They were the first troops to enter Guam and the first to land in the Philippines to raise the American flag in Manila. They fought in 42 battles and marched 500 miles in three months from May 1898- Aug. 1899. The monument was dedicated by the soldier’s “wives, mothers, and daughters”.
Songs of Innocence, Songs of Experience
- Artist: Jim Gion, American, 1947-2018
- Date: 1990
- Location: Waterfront Park, NW Couch Street and NW Naito Parkway
- Material: Bronze and stone
Spanish American War Soldier's Monument
- Artist: Douglas Tilden, American, 1861-1935
- Date: 1906
- Dimensions, diameter: 35'
- Dimensions, height: 35'
- Location: Lownsdale Square, SW 4th Avenue (between SW Salmon Street and SW Main Street)
- Material: Cast bronze
This sculpture is a memorial monument honoring the Second Oregon Volunteer Infantry, called into action by President William McKinley to provide a regiment of volunteer troops to serve in the Spanish American War. They were the first troops to enter Guam and the first to land in the Philippines to raise the American flag in Manila. They fought in 42 battles and marched 500 miles in three months from August 13th, 1898 to March 12th, 1899. The memorial was created by world class sculptor Doug Tilden, who was one of the first students at the California School for the Deaf. He studied sculpture in Paris under Paul Chopin. Many of his sculptures sit in the San Francisco and Berkeley area of California, where he lived. He is one of the most prolific California sculptors.
Gift of the Citizens of Oregon
Theodore Roosevelt, Rough Rider
- Artist: Alexander Phimister Proctor, American (born Canada), 1862-1950
- Date: 1922
- Dimensions, base: 7'8" x 10'6"
- Dimensions, sculpture: 12' x 3' x 9'
- Location: Offsite
- Material: Bronze
Alexander Phimister Proctor’s “Theodore Roosevelt, Rough Rider” was donated to the City of Portland by Dr. Henry Waldo Coe, a lifelong friend and hunting partner of Roosevelt’s. The sculpture was commissioned after Roosevelt’s death as a memorial to what he had come to symbolize to an America that was emerging from its wild past as a world power. At the outbreak of the Spanish American War in 1898, Roosevelt recruited men, many of whom were former college athletes and Western cowboys, to join a cavalry regiment. They were called The Rough Riders. They fought against the Spanish in Cuba, winning fame for their charge up San Juan Hill.
Proctor is a celebrated American sculptor known for his sculptures of cowboys and animals of the American West, subject matter that during his lifetime was romanticized in Europe and in high-demand. Proctor grew up in Colorado and was as passionate about hunting as he was about art. Like Dr. Henry Waldo Coe, he also was a hunting partner of Roosevelt’s. Proctor took great care in accurately depicting Roosevelt as a symbol of American determination, success, and strength and as a bridge back to the Wild West. The sculpture was cast in Brooklyn NY, and, apropos to the part Roosevelt had in the acquirement and development of the Panama Canal, the sculpture was shipped on this route by sea rather than by land to avoid cutting the sculpture into sections to come by rail. Vice President Calvin Coolidge was present at the sculpture’s groundbreaking.
Vera Katz
- Artist: Bill Bane, American, born 1942
- Date: 2006
- Dimensions: 53" x 18" x 18"
- Location: Eastbank Esplanade
- Material: Bronze
- Weight: 250 lbs.
Mayor Katz has been a life-long lover of the arts and was very supportive of arts and culture during her years as Mayor. She was instrumental in establishing the State of Oregon's Percent for Art Program many years ago when she was in the legislature. That proved a valuable step in the process the City of Portland and Multnomah County followed in adopting their own Percent for Art programs in 1980. Mayor Katz was pivotal in the development of the Eastbank Esplanade and it seems fitting that her political leadership and love for the arts should come together in a public tribute to her.