According to one observer, when the monument the Revisiting Series examined this week was unveiled on M and Connecticut Streets NW, the place was absolutely buzzing. The heroic bronze figure sat draped in his academic robe, book in hand, and looked out on the streets packed with the wide spectrum of adoring fans: men, women, and children “of all races and nationalities.”

It was May 7, 1909. The Marine Band played “The Star-Spangled Banner” and “America the Beautiful” while the flag that had previously covered the statue “floated above the heads of the great throng.” Then a Reverend blessed the ceremony—such was the power of the man!

And yet for all the pomp with which it was dedicated, when DCist went to see this monument of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow one recent evening, we could hardly see him. The man described as “the joyful, enthusiastic mouthpiece of what was best in his time” sits unlit, alone, and stranded on an island in the middle of the noisy intersection southeast of Dupont Circle.

Photo courtesy of dcmonuments.com