Leif Ericson, Viking Explorer, Commonwealth Avenue Mall - Boston, MA
Posted by: 
NorStar
N 42° 20.944 W 071° 05.310
19T E 327980 N 4690646
Leif Ericson is at the head of the Commonwealth Avenue Mall, partially because there was a theory that the Boston area was the fabled 'Vinland' that he had discovered.
Waymark Code: WMDA29
Location: Massachusetts, United States
Date Posted: 12/11/2011
Views: 8
In Boston's Fenway section, at the western end of the Commonwealth Avenue Mall park, there is a statue of Leif Ericson, well known Viking explorer who had made a voyage west into the eastern coast of North America.
The statue stands in a composition of bronze and red rock on a grey rock base. Leif stands with one foot in front of the other, the left hand is over his eyes as he looks on to the horizon. His right is at his hip, grasping a horn. He is wearing his armor and tight leggings. It is likely that the face is an idealized representation of him. The pedestal has beautiful nordic designs and there are bronze plaques on the side. At the bottom of the pedestal is the front and back of a long boat. Surrounding the pedestal is a stone base with more designs. The bronze sculpture is about 9 ft tall and the base is about 9 ft tall, making the entire height about 18 ft.
The statue is at the end of the Commonwealth Avenue Mall. It unfortunately faces an ugly highway interchange, now. Behind is a narrow strip of parkland that goes all the way to Boston Public Garden.
The Smithsonian Art Inventory site relates that this statue "was commissioned by Eben N. Norsford, a manufacturer of indigestion medicine called Norsford's Acid Phosphate, who sought to reinforce the belief that the Vinland discovered by Norse explorers was located on the Charles River at Gerry's landing, though historians believe it was really somewhere between Portsmouth, New Hampshire and Cape Cod."
The Wikipedia entry for Vinland relates that the actual location of 'Vinland' and the landing locations are under debate. The Wikipedia entry did not even mention Boston or the Charles River, so it appears that this theory is out of favor. Most seem to believe that the Maritime Provinces of Canada are most likely the landing locations, with at least one confirmed location on Newfoundland. There is even debate what the correct interpretation of 'Vinland' was - whether it was a place where grapes grew or where there was a meadow or pasture.
Leif Ericson lived about AD 970 to 1020. He was probably born on modern day Iceland and was son of another legend, Erik the Red, and had been brought up in Greenland. In 999, he made a fateful trip. Leif first made a trip to Norway from Greenland and was blown off course. He had become a hirdman (a royal armed companion) of King Olaf Tryggvason. It was here that he was converted to Christianity, and was given the task to bring Chrisianity to Greenland. Later, he took another boat to go back to Greenland, but was blown off course again and sailed by Greenland and arrived at land off Canada and Newfoundland for the first time. He landed and founded a village, perhaps what is now known as L'Anse aux Meadows in Newfoundland. Eventually, they made it back to Greenland. Leif had two sons, one of which, Thorkell, succeeded Leif as chieftain of Eiriksfjord. No more is known of Eric after that.
This statue is not the easiest to access. There is no parking that I know of in the region - most of the parking in this section is permit parking only. The closest MBTA subway stations are the Hynes Auditorium and the Kenmore Station, both along the Green Line.
Sources:
Wikipedia:
(Leif Ericson):
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visit link)
(Vinland):
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visit link)