“Without mysteries, life would be very dull indeed. What would be left to strive for if everything w

[anastasiav]

Mystery Statue

On Saturday, walking on the Eastern Prom Trail, we happened to spy a small mystery.

Its this statue.

Clearly, this was intended as some kind of public art. But, now, this (very well dressed guy) is behind a chain-link fence in a boatyard. I had to stand on a rock and lean way over the fence to get this photo.

You can barely see him from the trail. There isn't any way to access him from the trail, because all the land around him is chained off private property. I suppose that if you had a boat you could pull up to their dock and see him, but you'd still be trespassing.

So, who is he? What sort of charter is he holding in his hand? Who erected him, and why? And, if he was intended as public art, why is he now inside a fenced off boat yard? Why hasn't he been moved?

ETA: bubbette found him! His name is George Cleeve and he is one of the founders of Portland. Here's the story of why his statue is languishing on private property.

I have to confess to being very puzzled as to why this lovely statue wasn't accepted but this awful statue that is in front of Hadlock Field (apparently of a father scalping his families tickets while mom tosses aside the baby's teddy bear) was allowed to stand (despite it being rejected by the Public Art Committee)

I learned something today!