The Portland Parks Foundation Says the Thompson Elk Fountain Will Return in 2024

After being battered, burned, removed and taken to an undisclosed location, the Thompson Elk statue will return to its familiar fountain perch in 2024.

“After three years of brainstorming, studying, nudging, and negotiating, the Portland Parks Foundation is proud to announce the start of a unique public/private partnership to restore and return the city’s iconic David P. Thompson Elk Fountain to its historic home between Chapman and Lownsdale [squares],” PPF said in a statement.

The road to the Elk’s restoration has been long. In 2011, the Elk’s antlers were damaged during the Occupy Portland protests, and it was damaged again in 2020 during the protests that followed the murder of George Floyd, leading to its removal.

Last year, the city of Portland announced the fountain (named after Portland Mayor David Thompson, founder of the Oregon Humane Society) would return with a new base, along with a dedicated bike lane and an improved bus lane on Southwest Main Street in late 2022 or early 2023. Those dates came and went.

In May 2022, the foundation began a feasibility study for the rehabilitation of the Elk. It ultimately raised $160,000 from 65 donors to fund the renovation, working alongside project manager Jeff Hawthorne and the offices of Commissioners Dan Ryan, Mingus Mapps and Carmen Rubio.

Additionally, the city allocated $1.5 million of its 2023-24 budget for the Elk’s refurbishment. When completed, the new-and-improved fountain will feature a seismic upgrade, a recirculating pump, and graffiti-resistant coating.

Previously, OPB reported that saving the fountain and the Elk had grown increasingly challenging, requiring $50,000 to be spent on a machine used to clean the Elk with a jet of high-pressure, carbon-dioxide crystals.

“For 120 years, people have gathered at the fountain to enjoy it as a thing of beauty and a symbol of nature, but also to give voice to their convictions,” PPF executive director Randy Gragg said at the time. “Our goal is to renew it, reinstall it, and make it a safer, more inviting public space.”