June 09, 2005
Free Beer!
Jonathan Nicholas And The Skidmore Fountain
Yesterday in The Oregonian, columnist Jonathan Nicholas made a historical reference but slyly refrained from explaining just what he was referencing.
Everyone in Portland knows the story of the Benson Bubblers, the fountains that lumber baron Simon Benson donated so that thirsting loggers might sip Bull Run, not beer. Few recall the other civic leader who thought a downtown fountain should flow with ale, not water. A plot is afoot to revive that pioneer moment. Watch this space for details.
Since he left it there, we of course feel the uncontrollable compulsion to explain the historical item to which he refers, although we have no idea what current "plot" might be underway.
First of all, the fountain in question is the Skidmore Fountain, located between SW Burnside and Ankeny, and between 1st and Front. It's the City's oldest piece of public art, and is the source of the C.E.S. Wood quote which adorns this very site: "Good citizens are the riches of a city."
Second of all, the beer. What follows is the content of page 131 of Skidmore's Portland: His Fountain & Its Sculptor by Eugene E. Snyder.
An Enthusiastic Brewer
News of preparations for the unveiling ceremony brought forth an unusual proposal from Henry Weinhard, owner of the City Brewery. He suggested that the Skidmore Fountain should flow not with water but with free beer! C.E.S. Wood described Mr. Weinhard's generous offer:
Henry Weinhard, the brewer, as fine and honest an old German as you could find and whose attorney I was, came to see me and when we were alone unbosomed himself of the proposition that he himself would beat the epense of whatever hose was necessary, in addition to the fire hose of the city, to connect his largest lager tank with the fountain, and have the fountain spout free beer [one the day of the unveiling ceremony].
In 1888, Weinhard's brewery was already at the present site of today's Blitz Weinhard Brewery, 11th and West Burnside. But at that time, that location was on the outskirts of the city, and the Weinhard residence was in the same block. It would have taken three-quarters of a mile of hose to reach from the brewery to the fountain. Wood continued, "I gratefully thanked him ... and conveyed the proposition to Mr. Failing [chairman of the Fountain Committee] who felt obliged to decline it."
The record doesn't show why Failing turned down Weinhard's idea. Perhaps, since horses would be the largest consumers at the fountain, he was fearful about disruptive effects on the city's transport.
"A plot is afoot to revive that pioneer moment," wrote Nicholas in yesterday's paper. Of course, if someone truly means to revive that moment in a historically-accurate manner, someone will have to play the role of Mr. Failing declining the offer.
Which might be for the best, since the Fountain currently is being restored, and we wonder if pumping beer through its inner workings might not be a terribly good idea.
Posted at 06:05 PM | PermalinkComments (3) | TrackBacks (1)
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Beer archaeology on 13 Jun 2005
As the title suggests, a couple of historical-archaeological beer-related stories to post about. The first is from the Portland Communique, an historical footnote about Skidmore Fountain
Comments (3)
Steve F on 10 Jun 2005
So kids would be banned from the fountain? Boo.
torridjoe on 10 Jun 2005
think it's already been restored; a few weeks ago it was encircled in wire and drained; neither no more. Been good most if not all of June, I think.
jfwells on 13 Jun 2005
Actually, beer is pretty neutral when it comes to pumps and piping. Slightly sticky from the malt/sugar content, but it is water soluble. I used to work in a brewery and all of our equipment was pretty much the equivalent of water pumping equipment. If they ran beer through it, they would just have to rinse it out once or twice after they were done. I would be more concerned about the beer losing all of it's carbonation as it sloshed around in the fountain. They would have to use one with pretty lousy head retention or the collecting pool at the bottom would overflow with foam...