Paul Revere Monument

The PR mall is a nice little brick-paved park with a fountain and shady trees. Other than the statue you can find tablets on the wall that describe the famous people and places in the history of the North End.

The statue of Revere is one of the most photographed sculptures in Boston. Not surprisingly the sculptor portrayed Revere during the famous Midnight Ride, but unlike many illustrations where PR is showing galloping full speed, the motion of the bronze Revere seems to more dignified.

Although the statue is one of the most recognized landmarks in Boston, it is hard to imagine that it has quite an uneasy history, taking 16 years to create and 40 years to install in its present place. The sculptor Cyrus Edwin Dallin began working on it in 1883, more than 20 years after the name of Revere was immortalized by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow in his poem in 1860. Dallin was not a Boston native but was at the time a teacher at the Masschusetts State Normal Art School when he received the contract. The final version was the 5th or 8th (by different accounts) created by the sculptor when the commission finalized the design in 1899. May be this was due to the fact that the sculptor was only 22 when he was awarded the contract. But it was not until September 22, 1940 when the statue was opened to public. Dallin died four years later in 1944.

Revere was one of the first famous works of the sculptor, but during his life he created more thatn 260 works. Other well recognized sculptures are the angel Moroni atop the Salt Lake City Temple which became a symbol of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the Appeal to the Great Spirit monument that currently stands in front of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.