Mystery Fountain

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So here's a rare case where my Google™-Fu has utterly failed me. A while back, I took a bunch of photos of this groovy 60's fountain in my neighborhood, figuring that I'd then go dig up a bunch of info about it and put together a mildly interesting post about the thing, as I tend to do. And I would've done that, but I can't find anything useful about it anywhere on the interwebs.



The fountain interested me because it's in my general neighborhood (it's just off SW 1st Avenue, near Arthur St.), it's pretty large, and it's done in the same modernist style as the vastly more famous Keller and Lovejoy fountains further north. I don't know if it was the same design team, or an "inspired by" thing, or just that this was the way everyone built fountains in that era. I'm curious, but that info doesn't seem to exist anywhere, at least not in electronic form.



I think the main reason for this is that unlike the Keller & Lovejoy fountains, this one isn't part of a public park. Instead, it sits in a plaza between two rather forbidding office buildings, the Marquam Building, and the ADP Plaza. The Marquam Bldg. link includes a mention and photo of the fountain, which is the only mention of it I've found on the net, but there's no additional info about it there. The only other photo of it on the net is the Google map shown above, which shows is that the fountain is octagonal when seen from space.



Yes, that's a duck. There was a solitary male mallard hanging out in the fountain when I dropped by. I guess to a mallard the fountain must look like an ultra-mod swingin' 60's bachelor pad. Didn't seem to be helping him with the ladies, though.



At the time I took the photos I did look around for a plaque or sign or label or anything with the fountain's name or possibly the designer's name, but no luck there either. I suppose I could've missed that, if it was small enough.



Incidentally, according to this article, the ADP Plaza project figured in the genesis of Portland's high-powered, ultra-connected Gerding Edlen development firm. So make of that what you will.



The building's now owned by one of those "REIT" things that I barely understand. It does get a mention in a recent SEC filing of theirs, which notes the building was constructed in 1981. I imagine that would make it newer than the fountain, although the water from the fountain cascades down into the ADP Plaza parking garage, so it's hard to say for sure.



So I've basically concluded I've hit a wall here. I suppose I could go and call up the building management for either building and see if they know anything, but that's not really my way. I'm curious, but in the end I'm not quite curious enough to pick up the phone. If I did that, I suppose I'd have to explain I was some random blogger from the internet and I wanted to know all about their fountain, so that I could post about it and attract hordes of random blog readers to their surprisingly secluded little plaza. Which might lead them to say no. Or worse, laugh at me. Or most likely, not know anything more about the fountain than I do.



In any case, my Flickr photoset has a few more photos beyond what's here, in case you're curious or interested or whatever.