Grant Park Statue Garden

You should have enjoyed a nice little walk through Grant Park, past the back of Grant High School (where teenage Beverly attended school), and are now standing in the Grant Park Statue Garden.

A little history: the bronze sculptures were dedicated in 1995 and are the work of Portland artist Lee Hunt. Beverly and her husband Clarence attended the dedication!

Take a close look at each of the sculptures. Go ahead and get up close! What do you see?

What is in Henry's pockets? And what is he holding? Do you think he's smuggling any kittens under his jacket? And he might need to look at his laces before he gets very far.

Not too far from his boy is Ribsy. He's facing Henry and looks like he's waiting for him to toss a ball at any moment! Why do you think the sculptor made Ribsy so large? And why do you think his back and the tips of his ears are shiny?

And then there's Ramona. On a hot day, the sculpture park becomes a spray park and Ramona looks like she jumping gleefully in a big puddle. Take a close look at her rain jacket. Does it look like it fits her properly? Ramona detested hand-me-downs but right now it doesn't look like she minds too much. She's having much too good of a time to be worried about wearing Beezus' old coat.

What else do you see in the ground of the sculpture park? Take a minute to look through all the titles and stand on your favorite one.

When Beverly died in 2019 at the age of 104, visitors flocked to the statue park to leave flowers and notes at the statues. Click the link below to see a picture of Ramona covered in beautiful flowers. What would you have brought and where would you have left it?

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/06/travel/beverly-cleary-portland-oregon.html#:~:text=The%20author's%20own%20father%20lost,a%20library%20with%20a%20children's

https://www.oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/beverly_cleary_sculpture_garden/