A victory for downtown Portland

Restored Thompson elk statue and fountain will return to SW Main Street

Yes. At long last, challenging work of restoring the David P. Thompson elk statue and fountain to its rightful place on SW Main Street has finally begun.

The iconic landmark –- donated by Thompson, an early Portland mayor -- was severely damaged in 2020 during political protests and riots after the fatal shooting of George Floyd. Many Portlanders figured that the fountain and statue, then 120 years old, would be gone for good.

As it turned out, the elk itself was not damaged. However, nine of 52 granite elements that comprised the fountain were damaged beyond repair. The elk and salvageable granite pieces put in custody of the Regional Arts & Culture Council and the Portland Parks Foundation raised $160,000 in donations to pay for detailed engineering and restoration drawings.

Though the restored landmark is intended to look identical to the original, it will be different in a key respect. The original fountain always ran fresh water, intended for drinking by horses (and presumably some humans) back in the day.

The revised model will use recirculated water that will be stored in a stainless-steel vault under the fountain. The Portland Water Bureau says the recirculation system will save 18,720 gallons per day, adding up to 6.8 million gallons per year.

Serious architectural restoration projects sometimes lead to interesting connections between the past and present. In this case, it turned out that the same quarry located in Barre, Vt., that suppled the original granite could still provide slabs that would essentially match the originals in texture and color. The slabs will be carved to proper sizes by a firm in Cleveland. The granite will be treated with a coating intended to deter graffiti.

The elk statue and fountain restoration has a budget of $2.2 million, including $1.5 million from the city’s general fund and a $700,000 settlement of an insurance claim. At last report, the actual work is estimated to cost $1.79 million, with the rest allocated to contract management.

No target date has been set for project completion. A recent peek through the chain link suggests there is a long way yet to go. Maybe mid-winter?

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