PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — A controversial Portland monument could return to the South Park Blocks next year.
The city plans to reinstall the Abraham Lincoln statue in 2027, but not exactly the way it stood before.
For six years, an empty pedestal stood just outside the Portland Art Museum.
Protesters pulled the 10-foot-tall Abraham Lincoln statue down during racial justice protests in 2020.
Now, there’s a different kind of demonstration as the city plans to bring Lincoln back.
People knocked over a statue of President Abraham Lincoln in downtown Portland on Oct. 11, 2020 (KOIN).
Portland resident Aubrey Russell says the public never got to decide how Lincoln should be displayed.
“Then it turned out they developed a new plan,” Russell said.
The city held a public meeting Tuesday night to discuss the statue’s return.
In May, city leaders revealed a proposal to put Lincoln on a smaller, lower base, closer to the public.
“A big part of the work that has been leading in on that project is increasing accessibility at the site,” Darion Jones with Portland’s Office of Arts & Culture previously told KOIN 6 News.
The city also wants to present a more complete picture of Lincoln, including his legacy on race and his connections to Oregon and tribal communities.
But without his pedestal, Russell calls it a demotion, not a redesign.
“I don’t need to recite to you all the Civil War history, the Emancipation Proclamation, the 13th Amendment and the fact also that he was assassinated,” Russell said.
Russell says dozens of Portlanders, including Columbia Sportswear CEO Tim Boyle and businessman Jordan Schnitzer, are urging Mayor Keith Wilson to restore Lincoln as he stood before.
But the city says its plan comes after years of community engagement, with a goal of making the site more accessible.
For now, the two sides remain at a standstill, with Lincoln caught in the middle.
“We should be lifting everyone, right, with malice towards none. Those were Lincoln’s words. And that would be sort of a good that would be a good message for the city of Portland to embrace and to project,” Russell said.
The city plans to bring Lincoln back in 2027 and says community engagement will continue through this year.
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