Heart of Portland’s Historic Old Town
“Good Citizens Are The Riches Of A City.”
—C.E. S. Wood
(Inscribed in the base of Portland’s Skidmore Fountain)
In 1888, the area where the Skidmore Fountain now sits—a few blocks inward from Waterfront Park, just underneath the iconic Burnside Bridge—was essentially the center of Portland.
When Stephen Skidmore, a turn-of-the-century druggist who had arrived in Oregon via covered wagon, passed away, it was discovered that he had left $5,000 in his will—a princely sum at the time—for a Portland fountain to be named posthumously in his honor. Interestingly, rumor is he instructed that the fountain be intended for the use of “horses, men and dogs.”
When Olin Warner estimated the price for the commission at $18,000, three of Skidmore’s friends quietly made up the difference.
A Portland icon—inspired by the beauty of Paris.
A decade or so earlier, Skidmore had visited France for the Paris Expedition. He was inspired by the city’s beauty and returned to Portland determined to bring those same characteristics to his home city. The Skidmore Fountain was the fulfillment of his mission.
Only here—a Portland fountain full of beer?
The water fountain caused a bit of controversy—or at least gained a bit of “good ol’” publicity—almost as soon as it was dedicated. It seemed that the sculpture was seen as a tad too elegant for the likes of some on the U.S. east coast. It was thought to be a bit too cosmopolitan for the backwoods frontier town they viewed Portland to be at the time. Perhaps to help prove their point, local brewing legend Henry Weinhard immediately (and good-naturedly) offered at the fountain’s dedication ceremony to pump fresh beer through the Skidmore for free but the chairman of the Fountain Committee graciously declined.
For almost twenty years, visitors drank from tin cups hanging from the lion heads carved into the fountain’s base, where an inscription reads: “Good citizens are the riches of a city.”
The Skidmore Fountain is located between SW Burnside and Ankeny Streets and 1st Street and Front Avenue in downtown Portland’s historic Old Town District. It is the centerpiece of the Portland Saturday Market, open every weekend each year from March through December 24.