New Feature

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, American Poet, 1807-1882
(Sculptors: Thomas Bell and William Couper, 1909)

Washington is filled with monuments to figures of history and their contributions to the building of America and U.S. conquests in the world. In England, they say you can't swing a dead cat without hitting a vicar. The same could be said here: in Washington, you can't swing a dead politician without hitting a monument. Every corner holds some piece of memorialized history--a plaque, a statue, a nameplate. As the years march on, some memorials are less obvious than perhaps they once were.

Take, for example, this statue of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. It sits on a little island of real estate bounded by Connecticut Avenue, M Street, and 18th Street NW. Why? Why is Longfellow sitting in the middle of a little spit of land where few, but the homeless and drunk, give him more than just a glance? There are many other statues and memorials like this one scattered throughout the city. No doubt, at the time Longfellow's statue was erected in 1909, he was well-remembered and beloved as the greatest American poet. Ever. Still. Why? No doubt Longfellow himself is asking that same question.

To memorialize the memorial, I'm starting a new feature here at D.C. Confidential. I'm tongue-in-cheek calling it "Another Dead Guy Statue Day" and I'll feature pictures of monuments and memorials that aren't as visible and visited, let alone well-known as your Mall-variety memorials.

Here's to dead guys (and the occasional historical gal) and their memorials! Cheers, Henry!

Zip: 20036

Photo copyright: D.C. Confidential (Janet M. Kincaid, 08/07)