Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Memorial

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Memorial
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Location	M Street and Connecticut Avenue, N.W. Washington, D.C.
Coordinates	38°54′21″N 77°2′30″W / 38.90583°N 77.04167°WCoordinates: 38°54′21″N 77°2′30″W / 38.90583°N 77.04167°W
Area	less than one acre
Built	1909
Built by	Couper, William
Architectural style	Other, Naturalism
MPS	Memorials in Washington, D.C.
NRHP Reference #	07001056[1]
Added to NRHP	October 11, 2007

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow is a bronze statue, by William Couper, and Thomas Ball.^[2] The statue depicts American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. It is located at the intersection of M Street and Connecticut Avenue, N.W. Washington, D.C. and was dedicated on May 7, 1909.^[3]

After the death of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow in 1882, there were several plans to memorialize him. His bust was placed at Poets' Corner in Westminster Abbey in 1884 and a statue of the poet by Franklin Simmons was unveiled in his native town of Portland, Maine at what became known as Longfellow Square.^[4] For the statue in Washington, an association was founded to raise money for the effort, ultimately earning $21,000 by subscribers. Additionally, Congress offered another $4,000 and the site.^[5] Members of the organization included Andrew Carnegie, Henry Cabot Lodge, Charles William Eliot, Edward Everett Hale, Julia Ward Howe, and Curtis Guild.^[6] Theodore Roosevelt served as Honorary Regent. It was unveiled in 1909 by the poet's granddaughter Erica Thorp in the presence of Chief Justice Melville Fuller and the United States Marine Band.^[4]

See also

• List of public art in Washington, D.C., Ward 2

References

1. National Park Service (2010-07-09). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
2. "Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, (sculpture)". SIRIS
3. Ben Schuman Stoler (November 28, 2007). "Revisiting the Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Monument". DCist.
4. Calhoun, Charles C. Longfellow: A Rediscovered Life. Boston: Beacon Press, 2004: 251. ISBN 0-8070-7026-2
5. Gilder, Jeannette. "The Lounger", Putnam's Monthly: A Magazine of Literature, Art and Life. Vol. III: No. 3 (December 1907): 385
6. Chapple, Joe Mitchell. "Affairs at Washington", National Magazine. Vol. XXX, No. 3 (June 1909): 250

External links

Media related to Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Memorial (Washington, D.C.) at Wikimedia Commons

• Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Memorial, dcMemorials.com