The Circuit Rider

The Circuit Rider

The sculpture in 2014
The Circuit Rider
Location in Salem, Oregon
Artist Alexander Phimister Proctor
Year 1924 (1924)
Type Sculpture
Medium Bronze
Location Salem, Oregon
Coordinates 44°56′17″N 123°01′43″W / 44.938031°N 123.028684°W / 44.938031; -123.028684Coordinates: 44°56′17″N 123°01′43″W / 44.938031°N 123.028684°W / 44.938031; -123.028684

The Circuit Rider is a bronze sculpture by Alexander Phimister Proctor, located in Capitol Park, east of the Oregon State Capitol in Salem, Oregon, in the United States.[1][2]

Description and history

According to the Springfield Museum, The Circuit Rider depicts "one of Oregon's pioneer circuit-riding Methodist ministers" and commemorates "the labors and achievements of the ministers of the Gospel, who as circuit riders became the friends, counselors and evengels to the pioneers on every American frontier."[1] The Oregon Blue Book says the equestrian statue is "symbolic of the many missionaries who came to Oregon".[2]

The 3.5-ton statue was cast by Roman Bronze Works in New York and was gifted to the State of Oregon in 1924. It was presented "in reverent and grateful remembrance of Robert Booth, pioneer minister of the Oregon Country" by his son, Robert Asbury Booth, who was a prominent Eugene businessman and Oregon State Highway Commissioner.[1][3] The sculpture was originally sited at the west front of the old Capitol building and was relocated during construction of the new Capitol building (c. 1936–1937).[3] It fell off its pedestal during the Columbus Day Storm of 1962 due to high winds.[1] In 1993, the statue was surveyed by the Smithsonian Institution's Save Outdoor Sculpture! program, which concluded that "treatment [was] needed".[3]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "City History by People: Robert Asbury Booth". The Springfield Museum. Retrieved March 17, 2014.
  2. 1 2 "Capitol Tour Web Exhibit". Oregon Blue Book. Retrieved March 17, 2014.
  3. 1 2 3 "The Circuit Rider, (sculpture).". Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved March 17, 2014.

Further reading

External image
Circuit Rider statue, OSU Special Collections and Archives Research Center
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