By acting in near-secrecy, planners charged with restoring the Abraham Lincoln statue in the South Parks have created an unexpected ruckus by deciding – several months ago – that Lincoln should be displaced from the original plinth and set at ground level.
The Portland Office of Arts and Culture and the Regional
Arts & Culture Council made their decision last Dec. 18 and never announced
it publicly. It also appears that the
decision was made without any opportunity for public testimony of the fate of
the historic statue.
“The plan is to place the statue on the ground, sited in
front of its pedestal, and to its left
as you face the pedestal from the north,” according to minutes of the Dec. 18
meeting. The minutes also assert
that the statue, toppled by protesters in 2020, is supposed to be reinstalled
this spring.
The proposed change for the statue’s future only became
apparent recently when a preservation advocate made a request for public
records. In general, objections to
lowering Lincoln to the ground stem from the apparent effort to minimize his
importance as a historical figure and a belief that sincere “preservation”
requires the work to be restored to its original status.
“The toppling of Lincoln in October 2020 was an initial act
of disrespect and lawlessness, and the permanent removal of Lincoln from his
plinth is also a transparent act of disrespect,” says William J. Hawkins III, a
leading Portland preservation expert who closely follows conditions surrounding
Portland’s public art works. He said the new plan was never mentioned in
meetings with the planners in the intervening months. “We now see that they knew this plan would be
met with rightful objections,” he added.
Letters are being sent to Mayor Keith Wilson and to Portland
city councilors raising objections to the process. The Portland Historic Landmarks Commission on
June 1 said it had not been notified of the plan and called for an explanation.
The landmarks commission has no jurisdiction over the statue because it was
toppled before the South Parks Blocks as admitted to the National Register of
Historic Places. However, the statue, if
returned to its original placement, could be added to the National Register
district as a contributing element.
Ironically, a proposal from a landscape architecture firm consulting on placement of the statue said it believed
that the decision was “informed by an extensive community engagement process that has already occurred.” Where and when that engagement process
occurred is an interesting question, and likely will be probed by the landmarks
commission.
Wherever Lincoln ultimately lands, he is to be joined by a
sign “contextualizing information on Lincoln’s legacy and impact on Oregon,”
according to minutes of the Dec. 18 meeting of the Regional Arts & Culture
Council. While the council believes
placing Lincoln at ground level would make him more accessible to viewers, the
council apparently did not address the greater potential of intentional or
accidental damage at ground level.
