Monument Square is a

town square A town square (or square, plaza, public square, city square, urban square, or ''piazza'') is an open public space, commonly found in the heart of a traditional town but not necessarily a true square, geometric square, used for community gathe ...

located in downtown

Portland, Maine Portland is the largest city in the U.S. state of Maine and the seat of Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 in April 2020. The Greater Portland metropolitan area is home to over half a million people, the 104th-largest metropo ...

, about halfway between the

East Bayside East Bayside is a neighborhood in Portland, Maine. It is bordered by Franklin Street on the west, Washington Avenue on the east, to the north by Marginal Way, and the south by Congress Street. It is bordered by the neighborhoods of Bayside, the Ol ...

and Old Port neighorhoods. The

Time and Temperature Building The Time and Temperature Building, originally known as the Chapman Building, and officially 477 Congress Street, is a 14-story office building in downtown Portland, Maine. The building is named after a large three-sided four-element eggcrate d ...

, Fidelity Trust Building, and the main branch of the Portland Public Library are on Congress Street across from the square, while One Monument Square and One City Center are among a number of buildings located on the square.

Portland Soldiers and Sailors Monument

Our Lady of Victories statue, Portland, Maine

The Portland Soldiers and Sailors Monument is located in the center of Monument Square, on the former site of Portland's 1825 city hall. It was dedicated on October 28, 1891 and honors "those brave men of Portland, soldiers of the

United States army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, ...

and sailors of the navy of the United States, who died in defense of the country in the late

civil war A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polici ...

".Acts and resolves passed by the ... Legislature of the state of Maine
/ref> Also known as "Our Lady of Victories", it is a bronze statue mounted on a granite base, depicting a female figure, clad in armor covered by flowing robes, with a furled flag in one hand and a mace and shield in the other. The figure is an allegorical representation of

Victory The term victory (from Latin ''victoria'') originally applied to warfare, and denotes success achieved in personal combat, after military operations in general or, by extension, in any competition. Success in a military campaign constitutes ...

. On two sides of the base stand bronze groups of three figures, one depicting soldiers, and the other sailors. The sculpture was created by Maine sculptor

Franklin Simmons Franklin Bachelder Simmons (January 11, 1839 – December 8, 1913) was a prominent American sculptor of the nineteenth century. Three of his statues are in the National Statuary Hall Collection, three of his busts are in the United States Senat ...

and the base was designed by

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

architect

Richard Morris Hunt Richard Morris Hunt (October 31, 1827 – July 31, 1895) was an American architect of the nineteenth century and an eminent figure in the history of American architecture. He helped shape New York City with his designs for the 1902 entrance fa� ...

. The site's original landscaping, now substantially altered, was by Portland architect Francis H. Fassett. Its creation was made possible by fundraising activities of the local

Grand Army of the Republic The Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) was a fraternal organization composed of veterans of the Union Army (United States Army), Union Navy ( U.S. Navy), and the Marines who served in the American Civil War. It was founded in 1866 in Decatur, ...

lodge. It was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

on April 1, 1998.

1825 city hall

Before it incorporated as a city in 1832, the Town of Portland built its first town hall in 1825. Over the building's sixty-three years it was also known as Market Hall and Military Hall. The original simple gable structure was modified in 1833 by Charles Quincy Clapp, who had the cupola removed from the roof and a portico added to the front, updating the building to the Greek Revival style. In 1827, the upper floor housed the second public gymnasium in the US, founded by eccentric and influential writer, critic, and activist John Neal. The gym was based on Turnen gymnastics that Neal learned in London from German refugee Carl Voelker. The first floor in the building's early years housed stalls used by farmers to sell agricultural products. The building was the site of the Portland Rum Riot in 1855, involving Mayor

Neal Dow Neal Dow (March 20, 1804 – October 2, 1897) was an American Prohibition advocate and politician. Nicknamed the "Napoleon of Temperance" and the "Father of Prohibition", Dow was born to a Quaker family in Portland, Maine. From a young age, h ...

and resulting in one death. It was replaced by a new city hall in 1862 on Congress Street at the head of Exchange Street. The old city hall was demolished in 1888 and replaced by the Soldiers and Sailors Monument, at which time Market Square was renamed Monument Square.

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External links

Monument Square, Portland, ca. 1950
MaineMemory.net
Monument Square
Portland Landmarks {{Coord, 43.65736, -70.2589, type:landmark_region:US-ME, display=title Monuments and memorials in Portland, Maine Monuments and memorials on the National Register of Historic Places in Maine National Register of Historic Places in Portland, Maine Public art in Portland, Maine Union (American Civil War) monuments and memorials in Maine