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All the United States Massachusetts Boston Edgar Allan Poe Square
AO Edited

Edgar Allan Poe Square

The Boston square dedicated to the dark poet who was born nearby.

Boston, Massachusetts

Added By
J.W. Ocker
Email
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  davinwhite / Atlas Obscura User
  davinwhite / Atlas Obscura User
Poe Returning to Boston; installed in Poe Square, 2014   rocknaks / Atlas Obscura User
Poe Returning to Boston   rocknaks / Atlas Obscura User
Notice the eyes and lips   jdmo98 / Atlas Obscura User
  andresbernal1982 / Atlas Obscura User
  davinwhite / Atlas Obscura User
“Poe returning to Boston”   chris 22c068e8 / Atlas Obscura User
  kristidem / Atlas Obscura User
Sign naming the square after Poe   http://www.OddThingsIveSeen.com
An older Poe marker that predates the square’s official dedication   http://www.OddThingsIveSeen.com
A medallion on a condominium near Poe Square   http://www.oddthingsiveseen.com
February 2023   MarilynR / Atlas Obscura User
  Jason Michael Walker / Atlas Obscura User
Turning his back to Boston   Jason Michael Walker / Atlas Obscura User
  MtnLady / Atlas Obscura User
Edgar Allan Poe   Jason Michael Walker / Atlas Obscura User
Poe at the Women’s March, 2017   lizziebelle / Atlas Obscura User
Poe Returning to Boston (trailing pages; Poe Square)   rocknaks / Atlas Obscura User
Poe Returning to Boston   rocknaks / Atlas Obscura User
  davinwhite / Atlas Obscura User
Poe Returning to Boston Plaque   rocknaks / Atlas Obscura User
One of several “pages” fallen from suitcase   joshuasgalbraith / Atlas Obscura User
  Taterchips / Atlas Obscura User
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About

The house where Edgar Allan Poe was born on January 19, 1809, no longer exists. Neither does the street on which the house stood, since the whole area was demolished during an urban renewal project many decades ago. However, in 2009 on the 200th anniversary of Poe’s birth, Boston renamed the small plaza across the street from the southwest corner the "Common Edgar Allan Poe Square" and installed a street sign according. The plaza is near the theater district at the intersection of Boylston and Charles Streets, close to where Poe’s house once stood.

In that same square, but predating its dedication by twenty years, is a plaque affixed to the side of one of the buildings that is dedicated to Poe. The building  currently houses a burrito joint. Nearby, at 15 Fayette Street, some Bostonian has installed a teacup-saucer-sized bronze medallion with a relief of Poe on a red-brick, black-shuttered building. A hand-made list of residents dubs the building "Poe Condominium."

The intersection of Boylston and Charles Streets now has a statue of Poe with symbols from his most known poems.

(Adapted with permission from The New England Grimpendium by J.W. Ocker.)

Related Tags

Edgar Allan Poe Parks Monuments

Community Contributors

Added By

JWOcker

Edited By

Blindcolour, GerhardM, kristidem, lizziebelle...

  • Blindcolour
  • GerhardM
  • kristidem
  • lizziebelle
  • davinwhite
  • rocknaks
  • chris 22c068e8
  • Taterchips
  • MarilynR
  • andresbernal1982
  • joshuasgalbraith
  • Jason Michael Walker
  • MtnLady
  • jdmo98

Published

May 10, 2012

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Sources
  • The New England Grimpendium: http://www.amazon.com/New-England-Grimpendium-J-Ocker/dp/0881509191/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1279457058&sr=8-1
Edgar Allan Poe Square
Boylston St & Charles St
Boston, Massachusetts, 02116
United States
42.352303, -71.067313
Get Directions

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Steinert Hall

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Photo of Boston

Boston

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Stories 33

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