Longfellow Monument

Oft-cited as the most popular poet of his time, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow may be often associated with Cambridge, Massachusetts but his birthplace and beloved childhood home was Portland, ME. The poem My Lost Youth speaks to Longfellow’s nostalgia for his coastal boyhood home - and dredges up a sense of nostalgia for most anyone who reads it. (Especially so if - like yours truly - they were also born and raised in Portland.) 

Portland honors its native-born poet with the Longfellow Monument, which sits in the middle of Longfellow Square at the corner of State Street and Congress Street. Completed in 1888, the statue features Longfellow sitting in a chair, a pile of books perhaps waiting to be read or already read beneath the chair. It sits atop a pedestal with the word “Longfellow” surrounded by a wreath of leaves. During the holiday season, locals adorn the statue by placing a scarf around Longfellow’s neck and a pile of presents in his lap. 

Donations were gathered from schoolchildren in New England to help pay for the construction of the monument. The names of the children who contributed were placed in the monument’s base, ensuring that their role in honoring a literary giant would be long-remembered. 

If you’re visiting Portland, you’ll probably see the monument on your downtown wanderings whether you make an intentional visit to it or not. Its location is just up the street from the Portland Museum of Art, close to the Victoria Mansion, and a short walk to so much else - including the Wadsworth-Longfellow House where the poet grew up.