On April 9, 2026, the City of Portland welcomed the return of the David P. Thompson Elk Fountain, and, on April 12, 2026, we gathered with hundreds of Portlanders to honor its return after its removal 6 years ago when the fountain was damaged and had to be removed during 2020’s downtown social unrest.
The Elk’s restoration required a lot of patience, perseverance, sorting through a lot of political layers, and a strong alliance to get everyone working together. Thank you to the 65 community members who donated to the design phase of this project - paving a path forward and expediting its return by as much as 12 months! And thank you to city leadership and staff and the amazing project team for prioritizing this project and the dedication required to getting it right.
Project Overview
The Thompson Elk Fountain was built in 1900 and named for its benefactor, David P. Thompson. Thompson served as Portland’s mayor from 1879 to 1882 and was a founder of the Oregon Humane Society. The bronze elk was sculpted by Roland Hinton Perry. The granite base and fountain were designed and built by H. G. Wright.
The Elk Fountain’s base was damaged by fires and had to be removed during 2020’s downtown social unrest. The bronze elk statue did not need any restoration work. It was cleaned and safely stored by the Regional Arts & Culture Council (RACC) while the City worked on a plan to restore the stone base.
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 a feasibility study commissioned by the Portland Parks Foundation (PPF).
Collaborating with the offices of Commissioners Dan Ryan, Mingus Mapps, and Carmen Rubio and City Arts Program Manager Jeff Hawthorne, the City and PPF crafted a unique, innovative private/public partnership to bring the Thompson Elk Fountain back:
PPF hired leading historic preservation firm, Architectural Resources Group, to 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, under the leadership of the Water Bureau, contracted the construction to restore the fountain working with Cedar Mills Construction and Pioneer Waterproofing.
RACC cared for and will coordinate the return of the Elk back to its historic perch on top of the fountain base.
The fountain’s historic integrity will be preserved while using new technology to meet current standards.
Parts of the granite fountain base needed to be remade from new granite sourced from the same quarry in Barre, Vermont that supplied the original stone.
The statue was originally secured to its base with a single bolt. New seismically resilient attachments will increase the statue’s stability.
A new recirculating water pump will make the fountain more efficient and save up to 18,720 gallons of water a day.
About the Homecoming Celebration
The City of Portland, Portland Parks Foundation, the Regional Arts & Culture Council, hosted a public event to celebrate the return of the Thompson Elk Fountain on August 12, 2026. The afternoon of celebration featured:
Dedication ceremony
Flash Mob by Open Space
JR Lilly, Board Chair, Portland Parks Foundation Board Chair, Emcee
Jessica Green, Executive Director, Portland Parks Foundation
Kim Stafford, Oregon poet and writer
David Harrelson, Cultural Resources Department Manager for the Grand Ronde Tribe and Oregon Arts Commissioner
Dan Ryan, Portland City Councilor, District 2
Darion Jones, Assistant Director, Office of Arts & Culture, City of Portland
Priya Dhanapal, Deputy City Administrator, Public Works, City of Portland
Jamie Dunphy, Portland City Council President, District 1
Olivia Clark, Portland City Council Vice-President, District 4
Eric Zimmerman, Portland City Councilor, District 4
Keith Wilson, Mayor, City of Portland
Metropolitan Youth Orchestra, “Elk Fanfare”
McDaniel High Cheer Team
Performance by IN A LANDSCAPE: Classical Music in the Wild™ with Thomas Lauderdale, Founder and Bandleader of Pink Martini
The Elk’s Floral Wreath, generously donated by Flowers Tommy Luk
