SW Main Closes for Thompson Elk Work

Beginning Monday, July 7, road closures began on SW Main Street between SW 3rd and SW 4th Avenues. Construction to prepare for the return of the Thompson Elk statue closed SW Main Street from Lownsdale Square to Chapman Square. Closures are expected to last through winter.

Plan ahead for the road closure. Westbound traffic from the Hawthorne Bridge will follow traffic signs and flaggers around the closure area, with detour routes changing as work progresses. Drivers should use caution and follow all instructions when passing through the area, staying alert and prepared for traffic to suddenly slow or stop.

The Water Bureau is proud to repair the historic Thompson Elk Fountain and return the iconic statue to its original location on SW Main Street. The elk statue has been a site of political expression since the city’s early marches for women’s suffrage, most recently serving as a backdrop for protests against racial inequities in 2020. The elk continues to bring the environment to the foreground as a symbol of the city’s lost wildlife.

The Regional Arts and Culture Council removed the bronze elk statue from its perch and salvaged the remaining undamaged stonework in July 2020, after fires set in its base posed a risk of toppling the structure. 

Construction activities will restore, rehabilitate, and reinstall the fountain in its original location while complying with the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties. The project will also increase the seismic stability of the Thompson Elk statue and retrofit the fountain with a recirculating water system.