Subject | Theodore Roosevelt |
Artist | Alexander Phimister Proctor |
Materials | Bronze, Granite |
Installation Date | 1922 |
Acquisition Context | Presented to the city by Dr. Henry Waldo Coe |
Where was it originally located? | South Park Blocks between Madison and Jefferson streets |
Was there engagement when it was created? | No |
What happened to it? | Monument was toppled on October 11, 2020. It is currently in storage, in need of repair. |
Representative feedback from public comments, testimony and City-led public conversations | “The toppled statues of former US Presidents Lincoln, Roosevelt, Washington, etc., should either be reinstalled in their rightful places or installed somewhere where they will be shown the respect they deserve… It is not "racist" to honor men like Washington and Lincoln who are extremely important to our national story as Americans and widely considered among the best of US Presidents. We should promote art from marginalized cultures and install it around town, but not at the expense of existing pieces of art. “Dr. Coe, friend to racist and anti-Indigenous Presidents Lincoln and Roosevelt, and respected doctor of 19th century psychiatry of the time, donated several statues to the City of Portland, held Alaska Natives captive in the Morningside Hospital and buried them away from their families and ceremonies here in Portland while the South Park Blocks were being developed and Portland continued to grow as a city--an important point that cannot be ignored, even if the statues are removed.” See the American Museum of Natural History’s effort to grapple with the iconic Theodore Roosevelt statue in from of the museum in its short film “The Meaning of a Monument” |
Status | Will return to its original location in the South Park Blocks, pending restoration, repair, and the addition of new interpretive signage. Additional public engagement on interpretations will occur during the 2024 Monuments Symposium. |