To commemorate America’s bicentennial, the City of Portsmouth commissioned the Lafayette Arch. The arch is dedicated to all who have lived or died for freedom and was inspired by an arch erected in Portsmouth in 1824 to honor the Marquis de Lafayette’s visit to the city. The lion’s head came from the demolished American National Bank Building on High Street.
Portsmouth dedicates the Lafayette Arch
July 1, 1976
To commemorate America’s bicentennial, the City of Portsmouth commissioned the Lafayette Arch. The arch is dedicated to all who have lived or died for freedom and was inspired by an arch erected in Portsmouth in 1824 to honor the Marquis de Lafayette’s visit to the city. The lion’s head came from the demolished American National Bank Building on High Street.