John Ford Statue in Portland, Maine

The master of westerns can be found in...the coastal city of Portland? Ford, keeping watch over his green valley. Or, Gorham’s Corner. bakedinthehole / Atlas Obscura User Ford’s boot is pretty cool.

I don’t know if it’s symbolic of anything. I just think it’s neat. bakedinthehole / Atlas Obscura User The back of Ford’s chair. bakedinthehole / Atlas Obscura User It was very sunny when I shot these photos. Symbolic of Ford’s status as a western icon?

I’m just bad at photos. bakedinthehole / Atlas Obscura User The director on his perch. bakedinthehole / Atlas Obscura User The base, mixing the ocean and the wild west. bakedinthehole / Atlas Obscura User A closer look at the piece’s base, which has lovely, symbolic details. bakedinthehole / Atlas Obscura User Ford, keeping watch over his green valley. If you asked anyone else, they'd tell you he transformed the art of cinema. John Ford is a name as much as an idea.

Gristly cowboys, sultry temptresses, and thrilling horse, railroad, and stagecoach adventures established him as one of Hollywood's first auteurs. His films introduced the world to John Wayne, the archetypal cowboy hero of Hollywood's history, but also served as commentaries and dissections of the genre in revolutionary ways. Film scholars regard Ford's films as some of the greatest ever made, and eleven have been inducted into the Library of Congress' National Film Registry for their historic and cultural importance.

That ties Ford with contemporary Howard Hawks for director with most inducted works in the registry! The winner of four Academy Awards for Best Director, Presidential Medal of Freedom, and the first American Film Institute Lifetime Achievement Award, it's fair to say Ford is a well-respected figure in cinema. And yet, the man who brought the vistas of high noon deserts to life for generations of audiences wasn't born under the hot suns of Arizona or New Mexico territories during those swashbuckling times.

In fact, Ford called the craggy shores and salty air of Maine home. Ford (whose birth name was John**Feeney!**)was born in Cape Elizabeth during the tail end of the 19th century, and grew up in the city of Portland. Gorham's Corner, a historically Irish section of the city where his father owned a store, specifically.