Thompson Elk Fountain

For construction updates, go to the Thompson Elk Fountain page on the Portland Water Bureau’s website.

In May 2022, with contribution by a generous donor, the Portland Parks Foundation began work on a feasibility study for the rehabilitation of the David P. Thompson Elk Fountain and the return to its historic home in Southwest Main Street.

Originally commissioned in 1900 to honor the Oregon Humane Society, the Elk Fountain was damaged and had to be removed during 2020’s downtown social unrest. 

In May 2023, the Portland City Council voted on an ordinance to authorize the $1.5 million budget required to restore the elk back to its original location, per PPF’s feasibility study. 

Collaborating with the offices of Commissioners Dan Ryan, Mingus Mapps, and Carmen Rubio and City Arts Program Manager Jeff Hawthorne, PPF crafted a unique, innovative private/public partnership to bring the Thompson Elk Fountain back: 

  • the Foundation would commission full contract drawings for the design and engineering of the Elk Fountain’s restoration, complete with a seismic upgrade, a recirculating pump, and graffiti resistant coating

  • the city would then contract the construction

  • our partnership expedited the Elk Fountain’s return by 18 months and assures best preservation and resiliency practices will be applied to the design. 

PPF raised the necessary $160,000 for our part of the deal from 65 donors led by William and Kit Hawkins, Ronna Hoffman, John Russell, Tim & Mary Boyle, Steve Dotterer and the Kinsman Foundation. 

To create an improved design of the fountain, PPF hired the experienced historic preservation firm, Architectural Resource Group. Updated drawings of the fountain include a seismic upgrade, a recirculating pump, graffiti resistant coating, and enhanced street lighting to highlight the elk. 

The original elk fountain is a historic landmark, so the drawings carefully follow the Secretary of Interior’s Standards for the Preservation of Historic Landmarks. All of the parts that were salvageable will be restored. Nine of the 52 pieces that comprise the fountain were beyond repair. But they will be refabricated with the same granite from the Vermont Barre quarry where the original stone came from.  The stones will be covered with a Sacrificial graffiti coating to protect them from graffiti.

Additionally, the elk used to be held in place by a single bolt. The new design seismically stabilizes the elk so It will now be engineered to withstand an earthquake.  The design also restores the lights that once shined upon it.

Lastly, the fountain is decorative, not interactive. Per Commissioner Mapps’ request, the fountain will include a recirculating pump that will save an estimated $37,000/year.  The recirculating pump will be buried in the street and won’t affect the fountain. It will save almost 7 million gallons of water a year by recirculating the water; this is equivalent to approximately 146 single family homes. 

The 100% design drawings were gifted to the City of Portland in the spring of 2025. The Portland Water Bureau now leads the construction phase which is projected to start in September 2024 with the elk fountain fully restored by Summer 2025. 

For more information on our process and the amazing history of the Thompson Elk Fountain, check out the links below.

For construction updates, go to the  Thompson Elk Fountain page on the Portland Water Bureau’s website. You can also sign up for their newsletter on this page which will be used to notify the public of milestones throughout the project.

Thank you to our donors!

200 Market Associates
Linda & Scott Andrews
Suzanne Barthelmess
Gay Bauman
Elizabeth Bergman
Mort & Mary Lang Bishop
Suzanne & John Bishop
Tim & Mary Boyle
Florence Bradley
Rich & Elise Brown
Joan Cirillo & Roger Cooke
Kathleen Cornett
Steve Dotterrer
Downtown Developers LLC
Downtown Development Group LLC
Downtown Portland Clean & Safe, Portland Business Alliance
Amanda Feller
Blaine Fitzgibbon
James Gorter
Nancy Graybeal
Green Gables Design & Restoration, Inc
Gremar Properties
Michael Gualtieri
Roland Haertl
Nancy & Charlie Hales
Bill & Kit Hawkins
Ronna Hoffman
Kenneth Holford
Sue Hollern
Jeff Joslin
Morley & Jim Knoll

Kevin & Amy Kohnstamm
Marla Koslin
Peter Labadie
Lease Crutcher Lewis
Fred Leeson Fred
Patricia Madden
Michael McCulloch, FAIA
James McGrath
James Meyer
Richard Michaelson
Lindley Morton & Corrine Oishi
Multnomah Lodge #1, A.F. & A.M
Mark New
Pegg Investment
Richard & Wendy Rahm
Restore the Thompson Elk Foundation Fund
Tim Ruby
Tad Savinar
ScanlanKemperBard Companies LLC
Mary Solares
Al Solheim
Jeff Stuhr
The Standard
Cheryl Tonkin
TVA Architects, Inc.
Uptown Developers LLC
Don and Marian Vollum Charitable Fund
Walter Weyler
Elizabeth & Todd Whalen
Peter Williams
Steve Witten

Advisory Committee and Design Team

Meet the 7 experts who advised PPF and the team that developed the designs

A History of Protest

For more than a century, Thompson Elk has watched over acts of free speech and protest

Rehabilitation Proposal

Tour PPF’s proposal for the rehab and return of the Elk Fountain

Share Your Stories

Share with historian Milo Reed your experiences of enjoying—or acts of free speech around—the Thompson Elk Fountain

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The Elk Fountain’s Creation

Learn about the patron, the sculptor, and the architect of the fountain

Elk Rehabilitation

Submittal to the Portland Landmarks Commission