Kwik-E-Mart

Anyone who has seen a 7-Eleven this month knows that they are pimping the crap out of the Simpsons Movie that’s opening this month. Once FOX found out that 7-Eleven was going to bear the entire financial burden, how could they say no? This, by the way, is one of the most brilliant ad campaigns for a movie I have ever seen and I have no doubt that 7-Eleven will make all it's money back just on the Squishee sales alone. They also decided to turn a dozen of their stores throughout the country into actual Kwik-E-Marts. For some inexplicable reason Portland, Oregon (home of Simpsons creator Matt Groening) was not chosen as a place for one of the converted stores. Seattle, on the other hand, was. Naturally I couldn't pass this up, so Dave and I jumped in my car and headed for the base of the Space Needle, at the intersection of 4th and Denny.

It wasn’t just the outside that was decorated; there were some new things inside too.

Freezer Geezer

Enough Buzz Cola for everyone!

I never realized how tall Homer was

What would the Kwik-E-Mart be without a Squishee machine?

Hanging with the boys

The Portland/Simpsons Nexus - Part 3

With a name like Joseph "Joe" Fitzpatrick Fitzgerald Fitzsimmons Fitzhenry Quimby, Jr. you know there were a lot of influences in the creation of this character. The most obvious Portland connection is that his last name was inspired by our very own NW Quimby Street, home of the Lucky Labrador Beer Hall where David and I stopped off for a beer and a game of Yahtzee during the Great American Beer Tour a few weeks ago.

In my mind there are three possible inspirations for the original naming of the street. The first is Fred Quimby who was a producer and animator for MGM during the first half of the 19th century and is mostly remembered for his work on Tom and Jerry. Since Groening would have grown up watching Tom and Jerry (the violence in Itchy and Scratchy is an obvious parody/homage) and was interested in animation as a profession, Quimby would have been a familiar name. It seems likely that Fred's name was directly applied to Joe Quimbys nephew, Freddy Quimby, in the episode "The Boy Who Knew Too Much". Incidentally, this episode and character is where my intramural broom-ball team in college got its name, "Say Chowda". However, I doubt the Portland street namers were as influenced by Fred as Matt was.

The second candidate is Harriet Quimby. Even though she became the first woman to get a US pilot's certificate in 1911 and was also the first woman to fly across the English Channel, there really isn't any connection with Portland. Besides, street namers in this society tend to overlook the contributions of women. Still, I like to hold out some hope that Portland really is a progressive town.

The last contender is the most likely, Phineas Parkhurst Quimby the 19th century philosopher. Even though he had no connection with Portland, Oregon he did work in Portland, Main at around the same time as Francis William Pettygrove who moved to the west coast and named a small community on the Columbia River after his home town. Pettygrove would doubtless be aware of "Park" Quimby since he was a famous inventor, mental healer and, according to some, the inspiration for "New Thought". I'm not sure, however, how much influence Pettygrove had on street names. It seems more likely that later planers just picked out a famous contemporary of his.

Since we are on the name "Quimby"; it's worth noting that Beverly Cleary used it when she wrote about Ramona Quimby and her adventures growing up in NE Portland.

Now that I have beaten the Quimby/Portland connection to death; there is one more connection that is worth mentioning... the "Diamond" in Diamond Joe Quimby. That moniker was taken from a fella by the name of "Diamond" Jim Purcell, the Portland Chief of Police during much of the 1950s. Diamond Jim and Diamond Joe share many qualities. First, they were/are openly power hungry and corrupt. At the time Jim joined the Portland PD, there was already massive corruption going on in the forms of bribes and payoffs. Since Jim was intelligent, charming and “utterly dishonest” he managed to become chief in an almost record amount of time by being the most corrupt one in the group. He is also quoted as saying he wanted "to make as much money as possible, irregardless of means.” Mayor Quimby used the towns' tax money to go on a three month fact-finding mission only to come back and announce that is wasn't feasible to build a high-speed rail link between Springfield and Aruba.

They both also had/have connections with the mob. Quimby has been seen on several occasions taking bribes from Fat Tony. Purcell was a long time associate of Jim Elkins. Elkins ran the largest of the organized crime syndicates in Portland at the time and was raking in the money with all his slot machines.

On a non-Portland connection note, I was happy to find that the website for his 2000 bid for the presidency is still up and running. "Happy Hour in America" is a platform I can get behind!

The Portland/Simpsons Nexus - Part 2

Anyone who calls themselves a Simpsons fan knows that they live on Evergreen Terrace. The diehard fans know that in the first few seasons the specific address jumped around. The same house has been shown as being 59, 94 and 1094 Evergreen Terrace. In “Kamp Krusty” there was a huge departure and they lived at 430 Spalding Way for some reason. However, since “Marge in Chains” in the 4th season the Simpsons address has been officially designated as 742 Evergreen Terrace. The funny thing is that address was used earlier in the season ("Homer's Triple Bypass") as the home of Snake.

The Portland connection comes from the fact that Matt Groening grew up living on SW Evergreen Terrace in Portland. Naturally, I had to visit this street myself and walk in Matt’s childhood footsteps. My map showed that this street was tucked away in the West Hills, just north of the Zoo. Turned out the roads in this area are extremely hilly, twisty and generally confusing. Even though I had printed out directions and a detailed map of the area, I was lost for a good half hour before turning up a street marked “Dead End” which eventually lead me to my destination. I parked my car at the intersection of Evergreen Lane and Evergreen Terrace and was surprised to find that the street was little more than a gravel road consisting of only six houses.

Even though the gentle spring showers we were experiencing that day was quickly transforming themselves into an all out downpour, I took my time walking up the deserted road carefully examining each house and wondering if this was the one that Matt grew up in. As it turns out, the inspiration for the names of the Simpsons characters were also inspired by the people in that house. Homer was the name of Matt’s dad. His mom was Margaret, and even though the mom in the show is Marjorie they both have the nickname of Marge. Lisa and Maggie were his sisters, although the full name of Lisa Marie Simpson was also inspired by Lisa Marie Presley. Abraham was Matt’s grandfather even though the writers clam they chose the name randomly and were unaware of the connection. The name of Bart is an anagram for “brat” which Matt used to describe himself even if Bart’s personality was based on his older brother Mark.

The “J” that seems to be so popular in characters names (Homer J. Simpson, Bartholomew J. Simpson, Abraham J. Simpson…) is a reference to Bullwinkle J. Moose. So it comes as no surprise that in “D'oh-in in the Wind” we find out that Homer’s middle initial stands for “Jay” since Jay Ward is Bullwinkle’s creator.

I realized it was time to leave when a woman who was working in her garden asked me what I was doing. It wasn’t until that point I realized that a strange, tall male in a black leather coat slowly making his way up this secluded street in the rain, examining the houses and using his phone to photograph each one at a time when everyone else was at work might seem just a little suspicious if not down right creepy. So, I’m probably on some neighborhood watch list now but I got what I was after. Unfortunately, I have yet to find the actual address of Matt’s childhood home. I was also disappointed that all address were in the 3000-s meaning that 742 Evergreen Terrace exists only in that fictional Springfield.

Ulysses Meandering - Part 4

Plaque #10 - “He entered Davy Byrne's. Moral pub. He doesn't chat.”

I only had to walk a few doors down from the previous stop before I found the 10th plaque. The 'moral pub' is still there and, like most places, there were several people eating on the tables just outside the pub. Sure enough one of those tables was sitting right on top of my plaque. Fortunately, I was in Ireland and not only was the group at this table nice enough to get up for a few seconds; they actually moved the table out of the way long enough for me to snap my picture. This particular pub is very popular on Bloomsday (June 16th) because it is where Bloom actually had his lunch. Apparently there is a line out the door of people in turn-of-the-century garb eagerly anticipating their gorgonzola cheese sandwiches and burgundy. I opted to pass on that meal.

Plaque #11 - “-- You're in Dawson street, Mr Bloom said. Molesworth street is opposite. Do you want to cross? There's nothing in the way.”

Feeling like I was walking around in circles, I once again stepped out on Duke Street and, once again, turned away from Grafton Street. I turned right on Dawson Street (instead of going strait on Dawson Lane) and I find my next plaque. Interestingly, at this point Joyce's Thom's Dublin Directory failed him due to a typo. There was an extra building at then end of the street and, while this might not seem like much, it did throw me off until I realized what had happened. Unlike Bloom, I didn't have a blind man to help across the road, but I crossed anyway and continued down Molesworth Street.

Plaque #12 - “Walking by Doran's public house he slid his hand between waistcoat and trousers and, pulling aside his shirt gently, felt a slack fold of his belly.”

Just past Frederick Street I found the spot were Bloom was trying to figure out if he cold feel colors. It is also the spot with the penultimate plaque. He decided that this wasn't really a good experiment since he already knew his stomach was "whitey yellow" and moved on.

Plaque #13 - “His hand looking for the where did I put found in his hip pocket soap lotion have to call tepid paper stuck, Ah, soap there I yes. Gate. Safe!"

As I walked up to Kildare Street, I couldn't see anyone around. In the book, however, Bloom sees Blazes Boylan. This makes Bloom uncomfortable (he know that in a few hours Boylan will be nailing his wife, many aspect of which are unabashedly described in chapter 18), so, while digging through is pockets, he scurried across the street and turned right on Kildare Street until he reached the gates of the National Museum...where the final plaque is.

I visited the museum early in the trip with Lk, so I didn't follow Bloom inside. It had a very impress and extensive collection of historical and archeological treasures from all over Ireland. My favorite part was seeing real bog bodies up-close. I tried to get into the Library (where the next chapter starts) directly across the lot, but it was closed. I then decided to take up the challenge posed by Joyce in chapter 4 (Calypso) and see if I could 'cross Dublin without passing a pub.' I didn't make it very far. However, I must admit, I wasn't trying very hard.

Ulysses Meandering - Part 3

Plaque #6 - “He crossed at Nassau street corner and stood before the window of Yeates and Son, pricing the field glasses.”

As I walked down College Green, towards Nassau street, I got a chance to take in some of Trinity College. When Bloom was walking by the school, Joyce started taking shots at his alma mater's rival. However, the best quote about any college (although he is still referring to Trinity) comes from his A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man: "The grey block of Trinity on his left, set heavily in the city’s ignorance like a dull stone set in a cumbrous ring".

I crossed Nassau St. and found the next plaque. The changing city swept away the optometrist many years ago and left the ICS Building Society in its wake. They’re a mortgage company that works with the Bank of Ireland. The field glasses have been replaced with pictures of homes for sale. Alas, there was nothing in my price range.

Plaque #7 - “Mr Bloom, quickbreathing, slowlier walking, passed Adam court.”

I continued down Grafton for just a short distance before finding another plaque. Adam court is now the back of Judge Roy Bean's Bar, but soon after Ulysses was published it was known as Jammet's Restaurant. Yvonne Jammet was a Paris born sculptor and painter who bought the place in 1928. It was a popular meeting place for writers and artists for 40 years, right up to the point it went out of business. Apparently encouraging young and experimental artists doesn’t pay the bills.

Plaque #8 - “He passed, dallying, the windows of Brown Thomas, silk mercers.”

Eventually, I reached the point where Grafton St. becomes a pedestrian walkway for high-end stores and boutiques. Back in 1904 the street was made of hexagonal wooden blocks so they could access pipes under the stores. This created the "hoofthuds" of the horses as they passed by Bloom. Today it is paved with bricks, and there are far too many people taking after Bloom and "dallying" in front of windows for a horse to get by. My favorite part of this neighborhood was the myriad of street performers vying for the attention of passersby. As far as Brown Thomas is concerned, it was moved across the street in the 1990s. I also moved, moved right down to Duke Street where I turned left in search of my next stop.

Plaque #9 - “His heart astir he pushed in the door of the Burton restaurant.”

Heading off in this new direction I passed Bailey Restaurant on my left. This was a favorite spot for Parnell to hang out and talk politics. Later, in Joyce's day, Arthur Griffith and his followers (including Gogarty) hung out to bemoan the British. It also housed the door of 7 Eccles Street (the real house Bloom fictionally lived in) after the house was demolished, before it was moved to the James Joyce Center. I couldn't help but think about how similar this was to the 'Sons of Liberty' when they used to hangout at the Green Dragon in Boston and plot to overthrow the British.

Just past Duke Lane (I was still on Duke Street remember...it got a little confusing at times), on the right side of the street was the next plaque. Not only was the building behind the plaque not the Burton restaurant, it wasn't a dinning establishment at all. It looked more like an apartment building. After reading the next line in the book it was easy to see why Bloom didn't stick around, "Stink gripped his trembling breath: pungent meatjuce, slush of greens. See the animals feed." Since I had no reason to stick around, I followed Blooms lead and headed back towards Grafton Street.

Ulysses Meandering - Part 2

Plaque #3 - “Mr Bloom smiled O rocks at two windows of the ballast office.”

Once I finished crossing the bridge, and fighting my way through the crowds on Aston Quay, I found the next plaque near the Ballast House. While I'm not quite sure what exactly Bloom was smiling at with an 'O rocks' smile, I am sure it had more to do with remembering a conversation that he had with his wife earlier that day than with the ballast office. His eyes were drawn to the building because of the big copper sphere on a pole sitting on the roof. This was known as the timeball.

Unfortunately, there is no more timeball (in fact the building isn't even in same location it was in 1904) but then again, the reason for it no longer exists. Back in 1904 (and for a long wile before that) the "local mean time" was the official time across the British Isles despite Greenwich Mean Time having being adopted by the railroad companies as far back as 1847. As a result everyone needed to establish for themselves what time it was (time to get ill perhaps?). Dublin used the Dunsink observatory just outside of town to determine that they were 6 six degrees fifteen minutes west of London, which corresponds to 25 minutes behind GMT. So, the timeball would fall everyday at 1pm GMT, making it 12:35 Dublin Mean Time or "Dunsink time". This was the official Irish time until they adopted GMT in 1916.

Plaque #4 - “Hot mockturtle vapour and steam of newbaked jampuffs rolypoly poured out from Harrison's."

I proceeded south down Westmoreland St. until I reached a Chinese restaurant that use to be Harrison's Restaurant, and the next plaque. Bloom was temped to eat here because it was so inexpensive, but decided against it because it was just too sketchy ("Knife and fork chained to the table."). Not being much of a Chinese food fan, I didn't find much of interest in the area. However, at this point in the book Mrs. Josie Breen is introduced along with the infamous postcard reading "u.p.: up".

Joyce came out and said that he put so many riddles in Ulysses, it would keep the professors busy for three centuries. Most scholars think that "u.p.: up" is one of these riddles, since no one has any idea what it means. I've seen theories that range from it having something to do with a urinary tract infection to a threat on her husband, Denis', life. Denis, it turns out, is crazy and when they run into Bloom they are on their way to sue the unknown author of the card for libel. Some of the other riddles include: the identity of the Man in the Macintosh, what was Bloom going to write in the sand at the end of chapter 13 ("I AM A..."), and when is Bloom's birthday? Stuff like this is why more has been written about James Joyce than about Shakespeare.

Plaque #5 - “He crossed under Tommy Moore's roguish finger. They did right to put him up over a urinal: meeting of the waters.”

Continuing down the road I passed Fleet Street and came upon the Bank of Ireland. I didn't find a plaque here, but I bet if there is another it would have been in front of this building. It wasn't always a bank, this use to be the Irish Parliament House. In 1801 the Irish Parliament earned the dubious honor of being the only Parliament to ever vote themselves out of existence. If there is a plaque I bet the quote is, "Before the huge high door of the Irish house of parliament a flock of pigeons flew. Their little frolic after meals. Who will we do it on? I pick the fellow in black." Since sequence takes place in Blooms head and he is the only one in black; he is literally choosing to defecate on himself. A commentary on how Joyce feels about the Parliaments decision?

Another block down the road, at the intersection with College Green, I found the plaque at the base of a statue of Thomas Moore. Even though 'Tommy' died in 1852 he is still considered Ireland's national poet. For reasons I can't figure out, they put the statue over Dublin's largest public urinal, giving the title of one of his poems (The Meeting of the Waters) a rather comical twist. Sadly, the urinal no longer exists.

Ulysses Meandering - Part 1

In commemoration of my finishing James Joyce's magnum opus Ulysses, I would like to take a look back at my time in Dublin and recount my experience following in the steps of the novel's protagonist as he looked for lunch in chapter 8 (a.k.a. Laestrygonians). I chose this chapter because the route Leopold Bloom took is described in such detail that in 1988 a series of brass plaques (one reference said there was 14, but after more than two hours of searching I only found 13) were put onto the sidewalk, marked with an appropriate quote from the chapter based on its location. The plaques were fittingly provided by the Cantrell and Cochrane group. It's fitting since their ginger ale from 84 years earlier was mentioned twice in chapter 5 (Lotus-Eaters).

Plaque #1 - “Pineapple rock, lemon platt, butter scotch…among the warm sweet fumes of Graham Lemon's.”

I began my journey the same way Bloom did, by gazing through a shop window on O'Connell St. between Abbey St. and the River Liffey. Back on June 16th, 1904 (when the story takes place), the shop was known as Graham Lemon's sweetshop. Today (at least when I was there), it's a Foot Locker. As a result, the images in the window did not have quite the same affect on my appetite as they did for Bloom. I looked up above the neon ‘Foot Locker’ sign and was a little surprised to see that most of the wooden letters that make up the title ‘The Confectioner's Hall’ were still attached to the store front.

I wasn't surprised because the sign was there, providing proof that it was a real candyshop back in the day and not just a fictitious creation. Joyce wrote Ulysses with a copy of Thom's Dublin Directory by his side. As he once said, "I want to give a picture of Dublin so complete that if the city one day suddenly disappeared from the earth it could be reconstructed out of my book." Not only were the places Bloom went real, but most of the characters that he interacted with were based on contemporaries of Joyce.

I was surprised by the sign because it was still there after more than a century. As I looked to my right, up O'Connell St., I could make out the giant pillars in front of the General Post Office which are still pockmarked with bullet holes from the 1916 Easter Rising. The street was once again engulfed by violence during the Irish Civil War in 1922. Right across from the GPO I could see the Spire of Dublin which stands in the same spot that the 'Nelson Pillar' did until the IRA blew it up in 1966. The fact that this section of the road was able to survive this long, and remain relatively unscathed by the destruction and carnage that took place just a couple blocks away, left me a little stunned.

Plaque #2 - “As he set foot on O'Connell bridge a puffball of smoke plumed up from the parapet.”

Turning away from the more gruesome reminders of Irelands long fight for independence, I started walking towards the river. Before crossing Bachelors Walk, I looked both ways (like a good boy) and as I looked to my left saw the large and imposing statue of Daniel O'Connell. This reminded me of one of the more snicker-worthy legacies of the 1916 rising. Dan is surrounded by four winged Nikes, one of whom has a hole in her right breast thanks to a stray bullet.

Crossing the street and reaching the foot of the bridge I spotted the next plaque. In this part of the book Bloom is watching a barge leave for England loaded with beer fresh from the Guinness St. James Gate brewery which is located just a mile or so west of the Bridge. The 'puffball' came from the hinged funnels on this barge. These funnels would be let down so the boats could slip under the bridge, and when this happed a wisp of smoke would be released.

There haven’t been any brewery barges on the Liffey since 1961 so I was forced to content my self with watching the sightseeing cruses pass underneath me. Apparently there are still some romantic recollections of these barges. I imagine it's similar to the way some people reminisce about the days of steam powered locomotives. At any rate, there is a display at the St. James Gate Brewery Storehouse which depicts several of these barges with handmade wooden models. Personally, I was much more interested in the Coopering exhibit and the free Guinness in the Gravity Bar (probably the best pint of Guinness in the world).

The Portland/Simpsons Nexus - Part 1

"Wet cement! Is there any sweeter sign?"
- Bart Simpson, Lemon of Troy

Apparently Matt Groening didn't think so in 1996 when he drew a picture of Bart into the newly paved sidewalk near the corner of SW 18th and Salmon Street. Having been a life long fan of the Simpsons (quite a feat since I'm twice as old as the show), I figured it was about time I started to explore the connections between The Simpsons and Portland (Simpsons creator Groening's home town). What better place to start than with this cement carving.

It all started back when Groening was attending Abraham Lincoln High School (Lincoln for short) a quarter century earlier. As an interesting aside; the school was known as Portland High School when it started in 1869. This makes it one of the two oldest public high schools west of the Mississippi (San Fran's Lowell High is the other one). The name changed in 1908 and moved to its current location in 1952. Through all that they seem to have kept there mascot since the school paper, "The Cardinal Times", has been in continuous publication since 1897. Back to Matt...

By all accounts he had a very eventful time at the school. He and his friends formed the "Komix Appreciation Club", comics being a huge part of his younger days. They also formed a political sect called "Teens for Decency", they published an underground newspaper called "Bilge Rat" and created a Lincoln High board game. As a member of the Film Group, he and his friends created "Lightning Tour of Lincoln", essentially them just running really fast through the halls. There was also "Drugs: Killers or Dillers?" featuring an insane clown with an eggbeater. This clown can still be seen today in some of the torch wielding mob scenes in The Simpsons. Did I mention he was the student body president?

Probably one of the more creative activities Matt and his friends took place in was the creation of an imaginary group of greaser thugs. Since there were wacky actions occurring all over the school, someone needed to get blamed. After many locker locks were smeared with bananas, this fictitious group became known as the Banana Gang. During his junior year he and his friends got dressed up as greaser thugs at a party and posed as the Banana Gang for a picture that ended up in the 1971 yearbook.

Perhaps it was antics like these that lead him to call himself a "brat", thus leading him to the anagram Bart making the picture outside his alma mater all the more fitting. Speaking of character connections; Mr. Burns' demeanor was apparently based on a teacher he had in high school.

Groening was not the only celebrity to graduate from Lincoln. The Man of a Thousands Voices, Mel Blanc attended Lincoln. He is most famous for doing the voices of Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig and Woody Wookpecker (among hundreds of others) but I'll always remember him as Twiki from "Buck Rogers in the 25th Century". Astronaut S. David Griggs, golfer Peter Jacobson, abstract expressionist painter Mark Rothko and the late, great singer-songwriter Elliott Smith are all listed as Lincoln alumni.

It actually took me a little wile to find the drawing since it wasn't exactly on the corner (not to mention there are four corners to choose from). However walking southwest along the schools sports field did lead me too it. I'm not quite sure what the circumstances were that led to him making this picture, but he was apparently in town after the Kings Hill Station was constructed and the new sidewalk was laid. It doesn’t seem to have been condoned by the city since the council had to decide not to cite Groening for vandalism. What ever the reason, I'm just glad he did it.

Joan of Arc Memorial

Every time I drive up 39th from I-84 towards Belmont (usually so I can quench my thirst with some friends at one of the fine watering holes along that street) I have to pass through a roundabout at the intersection with Gleason. Normally, this would provoke some indignant response from me due to my admittedly irrational distain for roundabouts (especially ones where you have to stop anyway before going around...why not just make a normal damn intersection!). This roundabout, however, draws my attention away from its inherent annoyance and makes me wonder, "Why is there a big, golden statue of Joan of Arc in the middle of Portland?" Well, enough is enough and its time to get to résoudre ça mystère.

First thing I need to do is get a closer look at it. I parked my car on one of the side streets off 39th, about a block south and walk up to the roundabout. The first thing we noticed (I had Virginia with me since I was taking her home after work via the B-Side) was that there is no crosswalk to get to the park in the middle. The lanes do go from 2 to 1 next to the bus stop, so we crossed over to that and quickly made our way across the street to the park.

Getting a close up look at the statue I could see a stoic yet determined look in her face that is impossible to see zipping by in a car. There were no dedication plaques, but there were little tidbits of information on the statue. On the front of the pedestal it reads:

Joan of Arc
Maid of Orleans
1412-1431

That pretty much confirms that it's a statue of Joan of Arc. I was always told that's what it was, but since I didn't know what the 15th century French heroine looked like (mostly because there are no known depictions of her that survived till modern times) I just sort of took their word for it.

The pedestal also seems to indicate that she is riding into battle during the siege at Orléans in 1429 (or she was just ridding in to clean up the place). This was a major turning point during the Hundred Year's War because, among other reasons, the French actually achieved a military victory (never thought I would say that). It all began with Joan going to the uncrowned King Charles VII with a tale of how God told her to kick the English out of France. For whatever reason, Chuck bought into her story and sent her to Orléans which had been under siege for six months. Joan showed up on April 29th and by May 8th the English had packed up their tea and crumpits and left. So you see, the French can win...they just need to be lead by someone with the balls of a 17 year old girl. While we are on the subject of French bashing; the war probably took so long because the French soldiers refused to fight more than 35 hours a week, 39 hours being far to taxing on them.

On the right side (if you were sitting on the horse) of the statue, just under the hooves, there is an inscription that reads, "F. Barbedienne, Fondeur. Paris, France". At first I thought this might be the sculptures name, but it's actually the mark of the F. Barbedienne foundry located in Paris. These guys invented a way to mechanically create bronze reproductions of statues, which they did from 1838 till 1952 (with the exceptions of 1870 during the Franco-Prussian War). Our statue is one of eight castings. Four of them are in France, one is in Melbourne, Australia, one is in Philadelphia, and the youngest one (dedicated in 1972) is in New Orleans. The original was commissioned in 1874 by Emperor Napoleon III and sculpted by Emmanuel Frémiet. That statue is in the Place des Pyramides in Paris.

On the other side we found another engraving, "A Gift to Portland from Henry Waldo Coe M.D. 1924". Now things start to fall into place. Henry Coe was a psychiatrist who owned the Morningside Hospital nuthouse in East Portland. He also seemed to have a thing for donating statues to Portland. Aside from the Joan of Arc (donated in 1924, as indicated), there was also the Theodor Roosevelt (1922) across from Art Museum (Calvin Coolidge did the ground breaking ceremony), there was a ten-foot, bronze Abraham Lincoln (1926) situated in the South Park Blocks between SW Main and Madison, and finally a George Washington (1927) that sits on 47th and Sandy Blvd. In 1905 he also donated the material for Alice Cooper to make the Sacajawea statue in Washington Park.

Dr. Coe donated the Joan of Arc statue to memorialize the American "doughboys" that fought alongside the French during World War I. The statue was unveiled on Memorial Day 1925, not coincidentally the anniversary of Joan's martyrdom on May 30, 1431. The statue was unveiled in what is now known as Coe Park at the center of the Laurelhurst neighborhood. On May 30, 2002 there was a rededication of the statue after it was restored (new, very shiny gold-leave coating, new flag and new laurel wreath on her head).

The only other thing I noticed was the peculiar placement of the statue itself. Rather than being in the center of the park, it is on the southern side. Turns out the reason for this is related to the name of the neighborhood. Prior to 1921, this whole area used to be owned by the Laurelhurst Company and called "Block A". They set up an office on the north side of what would become Coe Park because the Portland Railway Light and Power streetcar line (the Montavilla line) ran through the center of the circle. The property was sold to the McFadden Building Co. in late 1921 who wanted to develop the area but after a ruckus caused the local residents the area was deeded to the city in April 1922. In 1924 the only place to put the statue was the southern edge of the circle. Eventually the Laurelhurst Co. building moved, and the tracks were filled in when buses replaced the streetcars leaving us with a big grassy roundabout and an off-center, golden statue of Joan of Arc.