Why Our 120 year old Elk Had To Leave Downtown Portland's Park

  Nadene Goldfoot                                                

We have lost our elk with its fountain from Portland's park due to vandalism.  What kind of people would destroy and cause such harm to a statue of an elk?  It wasn't the object of a god.  It was simply an elk to remind us that this is the reason why people love Portland; a city of the Northwest full of trees and animals such as the elk.  I'm inviting such mindless people to pack up and leave our once beautiful city alone.

This elk once stood  at Southwest Main between 3rd and 4th Avenues between Chapman Square and Lownsdale Square in Portland's Plaza Blocks, featured a bronze sculpture of an elk, resting on a granite base within an octagon-shaped basin. The statue and base are 9 feet (2.7 m) tall; the basin measures approximately 3 ft. 3 in. x 25 ft. x 8 ft.

Elk, also known as the David P. Thompson Fountain, David P. Thompson Monument, Elk Fountain, or the Thompson Elk, was a historic outdoor fountain and bronze sculpture by American artist Roland Hinton Perry. The statue was donated to the city of Portland, Oregon, United States, in 1900 for display in Downtown Portland's Plaza Blocks. It is owned by Regional Arts & Culture Council (RACC).                                               

March for George Floyd caused chaos, flames, destruction in Portland

Riots erupted in downtown Portland caused by George Floyd protesters.  George Perry Floyd Jr. was an African-American man who was shot by a police officer on May 25th,2020 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, during an arrest after a store clerk suspected Floyd may have used a counterfeit $20 bill. A video shows officers taking a series of actions that violated the policies of the Minneapolis Police Department and turned fatal, leaving Mr. Floyd unable to breathe, even as he and onlookers called out for help. The day after Mr. Floyd’s death, the Police Department fired all four of the officers involved in the episode. 

A destructive riot rooting for better respect does not earn it by  destroying whatever is precious to people in their environment.  Our 120 year old bronze elk is no longer  safe  in our park because of their going on a rampage, their rage and fury.  Made to last forever for all children and adults to enjoy, people have managed to cause it to be uprooted and imprisoned in storage.  Rioters want respect yet while in the rioting mood they are devoid of other people's rights and property.    The old adage; don't do to others that which you don't want others to do unto you applies.  

 The monument became a gathering place for demonstrations by George Floyd protesters, who lit several fires in the troughs along the base in July 2020. The undamaged bronze elk statue was removed for cleaning and safekeeping on July 2, 2020. The stone fountain was removed on July 17, 2020 after RACC determined there was severe damage to the stone and basin of the fountain.

                                          

Protesters gathered in Portland's Pioneer Courthouse Square to Occupy Portland on October 6, 2011.  Occupy Portland was a collaboration that began on October 6, 2011 in downtown Portland, Oregon as a protest and demonstration against economic inequality worldwide. It is inspired by the Occupy Wall Street movement that began in New York City on September 17, 2011.The elk was vandalized many times. It was vandalized during the Occupy Portland protest (2011), and had its antlers repaired in early 2012.  (An example of how a gathering turned destructive)                                   

The statue was tagged with anti-Trump messages in 2016.  This is vandalism.                                       

On July 1, 2020, during the George Floyd protests, people protesting police violence built bonfires in two planter boxes beneath the elk statue. The resulting structural damage to the granite base supporting the sculpture was deemed a safety hazard by the Regional Arts & Culture Council (RACC). The city removed the unharmed bronze elk sculpture for cleaning on July 2. After RACC determined that the stone and basin of the fountain were severely damaged, it was removed on July 17. The status of the Elk fountain remained to be determined. 

Following the deployment of federal forces to Portland, it was reported that as of July 30, the bare mound where the statue once stood remained a site of activity, with demonstrators arguing for and against its continued use for bonfires. In late August, the statue was being kept "safely in storage".

People do have a right to march about something that bothers them.  It's our American right.  But they don't have the right to mar or destroy stores and statues in our downtown Portland or any other part of it. 

I was born and raised in Portland and never thought I'd see our downtown area look like it does today.  Where we used to take the bus and go shopping once a week, I have now stayed away.  And that brings up the next topic of continued shooting in Portland and the surrounding areas like Gresham.  What's wrong with people?  

Resource:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occupy_Portland

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/31/us/george-floyd-investigation.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elk_(sculpture)