Abraham Lincoln: "Steamer" - Hartford, CT

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Steamer

Hartford, CT

Topic: Abraham Lincoln

Steamer

Plaque

GPS: N41° 46.459; W072° 39.949

Quick Description: 

Steamer is the title of the sculpture based on Lincoln's patented invention. It's installed in the Lincoln Financial Sculpture Walk at Riverfront in Hartford, CT.

Long Description:

Sixteen abstract and traditional sculptures related to the life and legacy of Abraham Lincoln are installed along the Lincoln Financial Sculpture Walk at Riverfront in Hartford and East Hartford.

Lincoln, the inventor, is the subject of this sculpture and plaque. A sculpture of the flatboat that Lincoln invented and patented stands besides a plaque describing this achievement.

The plaque adjacent to the sculpture contains a quote from Lincoln about ingenuity and a description of Lincoln's legacy as an inventor:

{Profile of Lincoln}
Lincoln
Financial
Sculpture
Walk at
Riverfront
{five wavy lines}


Steamer
Jonathan Kirk, 2005

"Man is not the only animal who labors;
but he is the only one who improves his
workmanship."

Abraham Lincoln is the only U.S. president to hold a
patent. After years of both working as a hired hand on
flatboats and traveling on rivers, he designed a method of
lifting vessels over shoals and through shallow waters. The
patent was issued in May 1849. Although Lincoln never
built a full-size version of the flat-bottomed boat, the U.S.
military used the design to create one type of ship that
landed on the beaches on D-Day in 1944.


The Lincoln Financial is an insurance company based in Philadelphia with offices in Hartford.