Statue will celebrate Lincoln’s historic visit
Officials plan to place statue near site of Abraham Lincoln’s speech in Woonsocket
He glowers with the wisdom of the ages from the rock cliffs of Mount Rushmore in South Dakota with the other giants of the Republic. His towering likeness is enthroned in marble upon the National Mall in the capital. And though it’s the least popular denomination of U.S. currency, his face is carved in every penny.
Now the city wants its own statue of President Abraham Lincoln to commemorate an often-overlooked moment in the statesman’s journey through history that took place right here, more than 150 years ago.
Using a grant from the Rhode Island Foundation, the city has issued a request for proposals from artists to construct a statue of the 16th president of the United States. The budget for the project is just $8,500, but City Planner Rui Almeida is hoping it’s enough for a proposal that’s artistically innovative, true to Lincoln’s legacy – and substantial.
“We want something the general public can relate to,” says Almeida. “We’re hoping for something a little different than a replica or a bust, but at the same time speaks to our era.”
Bids are slated to be opened on Thursday, but Almeida says the event will mark just the beginning of “a dialogue” with artists who respond to the bid invitation. He says planning officials will interview the artists, toss around some ideas and see if they can reach a consensus on a proposed project before awarding a contract.
The one hard and fast guideline given to prospective bidders is that the creation must commemorate Lincoln’s arrival in the city on March 8, 1860, to give a campaign speech at Harris Institute Hall – now simply called Harris Hall – the auditorium adjacent to City Hall where public bodies regularly hold meetings.
Because Lincoln arrived in the city by train at the old Providence &
Worcester Railroad depot, across the street from Harris Hall, the plan is to display the statute on the grounds of the train station, officially known these days as One Depot Square. The site is owned by the state Department of Transportation, but it has been leased to Vin Bono, whose Boston Surface Railroad Company, headquartered in the building, is now stumping to bring passenger rail back to the site for the first time in about a half century.
Given the limited availability of funds, Almeida says it’s unlikely the city will field a life-size replica of Lincoln. But just because the budget for the project is small, that doesn’t mean the city has low expectations.
On the contrary, Almeida, an architect and industrial designer, says artists make a living thinking creatively.
“Sometime you can do not much with a lot of money, sometimes you can do a lot with a little money,” he says.
Though the project hasn’t gotten much attention, it’s been in the works for some time. The city described it for the first time in the application for the grant, which RIF awarded to the city as part of its Centennial Community Gift series in 2016, according to Blake Collins, business outreach and public relations coordinator.
The city’s looking forward to paying Lincoln his due.
“We’re looking for a sculpture in a prominent and important place in the city,” said Collins. “Main Street is one of our key revitalization areas. When you’re talking about celebrating something prominent in the city, Abe Lincoln comes to mind immediately.”
Actually, the city already has a small work of art commemorating Lincoln’s 1860 visit, but unless you’ve visited City Hall recently, you probably don’t know about it. The roughly 3- by 4-foot metal plaque is affixed to the entryway wall at the seat of local government.
The copper-colored, alloy fixture bears the likeness of the president, along with an inscription generally describing the events that drew Lincoln to Harris Institute Hall:
“Following his address at Cooper Union in New York, he spoke in Providence and several New Hampshire cities,” the plaque reads. “After visiting his son Robert at Phillips Exeter Academy, he continued his tour in Connecticut before returning to Rhode Island to speak in Woonsocket. This stop helped his party to win spring elections in New England and contributed to his election as president in November.”
In a mockup of Lincoln’s own cursive script, the plaque also includes an excerpt of Lincoln’s famous speech at Cooper Union.
“Let us have faith that right makes might, and in that faith, let us, to the end, dare to do our duty, as we understand it.”
The work is signed by the sculptor, Allison Macomber, with credit to the designer, “H. Ward.”
Paul Bourget, a member of the School Committee who is also a “living historian” of the Civil War, said Lincoln was a champion of the fledgling Republican Party when he visited Woonsocket, as well as a Senator from Illinois. Though he was widely viewed as the party leader and was traveling in New England, the purpose of his visit was not to stump for himself as the nation’s next president, but other members of the party in Congress.
There were already four Republican contenders for president when Lincoln spoke at Harris Hall, according to Bourget, but Lincoln was not among them, at least not officially. That would all soon change, as Lincoln was elected president by November the same year.
“He’s moving that way,” said Bourget. “He’s really stumping for other candidates, but there’s no question he’s being looked at as one of the chief candidates.”
Lincoln, of course, is famous for many things, not the least of them the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation, officially declaring the end of slavery just before the end of the Civil War. His position on slavery, however, was different when he spoke at Harris Hall, Bourget said.
He wasn’t espousing the abolition of slavery – he merely opposed its spread into the territories that were not yet states.
“He was going to leave the slave states alone,” said Bourget. “He was not against that at all.”
According to the web site Abraham Lincoln Classroom, a crowd of several hundred people followed Lincoln to Harris Hall from Providence for a rousing rally on March 8, 1860. But historians apparently disagree on what Lincoln did after it was over.
Some think Lincoln promptly boarded the train again and returned to Providence. At least one highly respected Lincoln scholar, however, has written that he spent the night at “Oakley,” a mansion in the city where the wealthy industrialist Edward Harris lived.
Harris Institute Hall – built by Harris – was his gift to the city. At the time, Harris Institute Hall was one of the largest auditoriums in the state, which helps explain why Lincoln wanted to speak there.
According to Lincoln chronicler Howard Holzer, Lincoln didn’t leave the city by train until the following morning, departing for Providence before his next campaign stop in Norwich, Conn.
“When you’re talking about celebrating something prominent in the city, Abe Lincoln comes to mind immediately.”