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Happy Elk Week.
That’s the official branding, anyway, from Portland Parks Foundation, which helped return the iconic Thompson Elk Fountain to Southwest Main Street downtown on Thursday, April 9.
Six years ago, the city removed the 126-year-old elk from its perch between Chapman and Lownsdale squares after it was damaged during Black Lives Matter protests in July 2020. Today, the 9-foot bronze cervine dropped down onto its pedestal under sunny skies and surrounded by a crowd at about 10 am.
Anyone can now go see the Thompson Elk statue now, but the official free community unveiling is 1-4 pm Sunday, April 12.
For those who want a little more context on the symbolism of what the restored and returned Thompson Elk statue means to the city, there’s also a new 30-minute documentary coming out called The Elk. Directed by Erika Bolstad, the doc will premiere April 18 as part of the Portland Panorama Film Festival. The Elk is a standalone spin-off of Bolstad’s feature film project Monumental, which explores more statues that were toppled or removed in 2020.
Bolstad interviews protesters, journalists, preservationists and more about how the Thompson Elk became collateral damage that summer, due to its positioning just a block away from the Multnomah County Justice Center.
Bolstad does an admirable job balancing the viewpoint that protesters’ spray-painting and setting fire to the fountain was their means of political expression, with other sources characterizing the behavior and damage as disrespectful nihilism. The Thompson Elk Fountain restoration project cost $2.2 million.
“I think of this elk as being kind of a silent witness to what’s going on,” architecture writer Brian Libby says in the film.
GO: Thompson Elk Homecoming Celebration at Chapman and Lownsdale Squares, SW 4th Avenue and Main Street. portland.gov/water/events/2026/4/12/thompson-elk-homecoming-celebration. 1-4 pm Sunday, April 12, official program at 1:30 pm. Free.
WATCH: The Elk at Portland Panorama Film Festival at McMenamins Kennedy School Theater, 5736 NE 33rd Ave. portlandpanorama.org/festival-program. 12 pm Saturday, April 18 (part of “The More You Know: PNW Docs.”) $15.
