Lincoln upright in our shop during the restoration.

Abraham Lincoln

We rebuilt the damaged base of Portland’s Abraham Lincoln statue, preserving its original sides and inscriptions.

Portland, Oregon

Original sculptor: George Fite Waters Base restoration: Western Iron Works

The project

Original sculptor: George Fite Waters

Base restoration: Western Iron Works

Location: Portland, Oregon

Repair completed: 2025

The original sculpture

George Fite Waters’
Abraham Lincoln

The ten-foot bronze depicts Lincoln at the time of the Gettysburg Address.

Cast in France in 1927, the sculpture stood in Portland’s South Park Blocks. Waters portrayed Lincoln as a somber figure reflecting on a divided nation.

George Fite Waters · Sculptor

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The damage

Lincoln was pulled down on October 11, 2020, during the Portland riots. The fall badly distorted the bronze base. We were hired to repair the statue and restore the damaged base.

Abraham Lincoln statue lying head down beside its pedestal at night, with its damaged base raised in the air. — Lincoln after it was pulled down on October 11, 2020.

Workers in high-visibility jackets and yellow lifting straps around the reclining Lincoln statue. — The statue secured in lifting straps for transport.

Side view of Lincoln’s feet and the severely bent original bronze base in the shop. — The original base was bent sharply out of shape.

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Trying to save
the original base

Our first plan was to bring the original casting back into shape. We put a lot of work into supporting the statue, heating the damaged metal, and trying to straighten the base.

The bronze proved extremely brittle. As the work continued, the cracks and fractures made it clear we needed to understand the metal before going further.

Lincoln lying horizontally in the shop, supported by lifting straps, chains, and a fabricated frame around the bent base. — The statue supported while we worked on straightening the base.

A torch heating the underside of the original bronze base, with cracks and earlier welds visible around the foot openings. — Heating the original casting during the repair attempts.

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Testing the bronze

Together with Robert, the art conservator, and Keith from RACC, we decided to send a sample for metallurgical composition testing.

The results showed a high lead content. The original bronze was extremely difficult to weld, so we agreed to rebuild the base.

Red and white inspection coating on the underside of the original base, revealing an extensive network of cracks. — Cracks across the original casting during assessment.

A fractured section of the original base on a workbench, with several loose metal fragments in front. — An original side section and loose fragments on the bench.

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Building a new base

We fabricated a new base and fitted it around the statue’s original feet. The original sides were kept and incorporated into the rebuild.

These shop photos show the new plate, the openings shaped around the feet, and the hollow bronze casting with the base removed.

A new rectangular metal plate held with clamps inside the original inscribed sidewalls on a workbench. — The new plate fitted within the original sides.

Replacement base on a workbench with two shaped openings for the original statue feet. — Openings cut to fit around the original feet.

Undersides of the two hollow bronze feet while Lincoln is supported horizontally and the base is removed. — The hollow bronze feet with the base removed.

Fitting and welding the connections

Close view of an original bronze shoe clamped against the new base during fitting. — Fitting the original feet to the replacement base.

Detailed view of welds joining the preserved bronze around a foot opening to the new plate. — Welds around the foot, viewed from underneath.

Reinforcing the feet and legs

We built a stainless steel frame beneath the new base, with solid supports extending from the frame up inside the legs.

We drilled and tapped through the feet, installed bronze threaded rods through the base into the feet, and plug-welded the tops.

The reinforcement was designed to keep the base from being the failure point if the statue were damaged again.

Close view of the fabricated stainless steel frame fitted beneath the replacement base during assembly. — The stainless steel frame we built beneath the base.

Both original bronze feet on the new base, with welding and finishing tools resting on the plate. — The feet and new base during welding and finishing.

Close view of a bronze shoe and its welded connection to the new plate, before final surface finishing. — The foot connection before final grinding and patina.

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Keeping the
original inscriptions

The artist’s name, date, foundry mark, and other lettering were part of the original base. We preserved those inscribed sides and built them into the new base, keeping that history with the sculpture.

Original inscription reading George Fite Waters, Paris 1926, on a retained side of the base. — The original artist’s name and date, preserved in the base.

Close photograph of the original Cire Perdue, C. Valsuani, Paris foundry mark in the bronze. — The original C. Valsuani foundry mark.

06 /

The completed base

After welding, we ground the repairs smooth and restored the patina. The completed base combines the original sculpture and preserved inscriptions with the new stainless steel frame underneath.