PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Years after a Portland monument of the enslaved Black man who contributed to the Lewis and Clark Expedition was vandalized, the city is nearing its return.

Portland’s Office of Arts and Culture spokesperson Kelly Knickerbocker confirmed to KOIN 6 that Todd McGrain completed a fabrication of the York bust earlier this August. Originally anonymous, McGrain is the same artist who sculpted the bust that was previously installed on a pedestal at Mt. Tabor Park’s summit in February 2021.

The artwork was removed due to vandalism just months later, and following several instances of what former Portland Parks & Recreation Director Adena Long referred to as “racist responses.” • The York statue in Portland's Mt. Tabor Park was toppled and damaged overnight. July 28, 2021

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