John Ford Statue

If you asked John Ford what he did with his life, he'd tell you he made westerns.

If you asked anyone else, they'd tell you he transformed the art of cinema.

John Ford is a name as much as an idea. Gristly cowboys, sultry temptresses, and thrilling horse, railroad, and stagecoach adventures established him as one of Hollywood's first auteurs. His films introduced the world to John Wayne, the archetypal cowboy hero of Hollywood's history, but also served as commentaries and dissections of the genre in revolutionary ways. Film scholars regard Ford's films as some of the greatest ever made, and eleven have been inducted into the Library of Congress' National Film Registry for their historic and cultural importance. That ties Ford with contemporary Howard Hawks for director with most inducted works in the registry! The winner of four Academy Awards for Best Director, Presidential Medal of Freedom, and the first American Film Institute Lifetime Achievement Award, it's fair to say Ford is a well-respected figure in cinema.

And yet, the man who brought the vistas of high noon deserts to life for generations of audiences wasn't born under the hot suns of Arizona or New Mexico territories during those swashbuckling times. In fact, Ford called the craggy shores and salty air of Maine home. Ford (whose birth name was John Feeney!) was born in Cape Elizabeth during the tail end of the 19th century, and grew up in the city of Portland. Gorham's Corner, a historically Irish section of the city where his father owned a store, specifically. Ford graduated from Portland High School in 1914 and soon thereafter moved to California with dreams of directing films. What came next, without hyperbole, was a movie.

Ford always found his relationship to Vacationland strained, however.  "I love Portland, but I don’t even know if they like me", he reportedly told a friend, and it wasn't hard to see why he felt this way. Following his death in 1973, Portland neglected to install even a tiny, little plaque to commemorate the cinematic legend's connection to the small city. It wasn't until Ford's friend, Linda Noe Laine, visited Portland around two decades after Ford's death that something changed. Laine, a wealthy philanthropist, was surprised to find the lack of Ford focus in Portland and was granted permission by the city to install a statue in town to commemorate Ford. The spot chosen was, of course, Gorham's Corner.

Thus, the John Ford Statue was dedicated in 1998, cementing the legacy of Ford as one of Portland's most beloved sons. The piece itself, sculpted by artist George Kelly, shows Ford with his most faithful companions: a pipe, a wide-brimmed hat, and a director's chair. The figure itself rises out of a mound of jagged stones, as if Ford's beloved New England shores and southwestern deserts were mangled into one. It's surrounded by stones which denote each film Ford earned an Academy Award for, and Ford is fittingly staring off towards where his father's business once stood.

But there may be no better commemoration of Ford's famous humbleness than the statue's simple inscription on the base: John Ford - Director - "I make westerns".