Boothby Square

Bootby Square is a public square in Portland, Maine, United States. Located on the last remaining cobblestoned section of Fore Street, it is named for Frederic E. Boothby, a former mayor of Portland.[1] A water trough in the square is dedicated to Boothby's philanthropic wife, Adelaide.[2]

Boothby Square
The square in 2023, looking southwest from the Silver Street intersection
Location within Portland
Maintained byCity of Portland
LocationPortland, Maine, U.S.
Coordinates43.65701°N 70.251887°W / 43.65701; -70.251887

Now open, but surrounded by sections of granite blocks, the square was formerly enclosed by iron railings.[3] The street is bisected by Silver Street.

"Tracing the Fore"

In 2006, the City of Portland installed a piece of public art, titled "Tracing the Fore", in the square, created by landscape artist Shauna Gillies-Smith. It cost around $135,000. The piece received a large amount of criticism, and was removed in 2011. It was sold for $100 at a local auction, with the successful bidder also paying $9,000 for its removal. Gillies-Smith, based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, claimed the City did not want to put the funds towards making the sculpture look acceptable, while Alex Jaegerman, Portland's planning-division director, refuted the claim that money was the issue. He had received a petition without around 150 signatures, asking for the sculpture to be removed.[4]

References
  1. Boothby Square - City of Portland official website
  2. "Boothby Square Watering Trough". www.publicartportland.org. Retrieved June 15, 2023.
  3. "Boothby Square, Portland, ca. 1920". Maine Memory Network. Retrieved June 15, 2023.
  4. Bidgood, Jess (October 1, 2011). "Maine City Casts Off Spurned Sculpture". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 15, 2023.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.