Lewis and Clark Memorial Column

{{Short description|Monument commemorating Lewis and Clark in Portland, Oregon}}

{{Infobox artwork

| title = Lewis and Clark Memorial Column

| image_file = File:Pdx washpark lewisandclark memorial sw.jpeg

| caption = The sculpture in 2006, viewed from the southwest

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| alt =

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| artist =

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| year = {{start date|1908}}

| type = Sculpture

| material = Snake River granite, bronze

| subject =

| height_metric =

| height_imperial = 34.5

| diameter_metric =

| diameter_imperial = 2.5

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| metric_unit = m

| imperial_unit = ft

| condition = "Well maintained" (1993)

| city = Portland, Oregon, United States

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| mapframe = yes

| mapframe-zoom = 13

| coordinates = {{coord|45.521388|-122.70139|type:landmark_region:US-OR|format=dms|display=inline,title}}

| owner = City of Portland's Metropolitan Arts Commission

| url =

}}

The Lewis and Clark Memorial Column is an outdoor monument by artist Otto Schumann, dedicated to Meriwether Lewis and William Clark for their expedition and located at Washington Park in Portland, Oregon.

Description

The sculpture, made of Snake River granite, is a Classical column with a sphere on top. It is approximately 34 feet, 6 inches tall, with a diameter of 2.5 feet. The obelisk sits on a square base that is approximately 5 feet, 5 inches tall. The base's sides display bronze seals for the states of Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Montana, which once comprised the Oregon Territory. An illuminated path leads up the monument. According to the Smithsonian Institution, the work is administered by City of Portland's Metropolitan Arts Commission.{{cite web|title=Lewis and Clark Memorial Column, (sculpture).|url=http://siris-artinventories.si.edu/ipac20/ipac.jsp?&profile=all&source=~!siartinventories&uri=full=3100001~!324193~!0#focus|publisher=Smithsonian Institution|access-date=September 29, 2014|archive-date=October 6, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006095530/http://siris-artinventories.si.edu/ipac20/ipac.jsp?&profile=all&source=~!siartinventories&uri=full=3100001~!324193~!0#focus|url-status=live}}

History

The memorial was commissioned around 1902 by the Lewis & Clark Exposition Commission for approximately $10,500 as a "gift of the people of Oregon in memory" of the duo. President Theodore Roosevelt laid the first cornerstone on May 21, 1903, and the piece was completed and dedicated in 1908. It was surveyed and considered "well maintained" by Smithsonian's "Save Outdoor Sculpture!" program in November 1993.