Portland enjoys the luxury of having beautiful art pieces in its niche and the abundance of water to breathe life to these art pieces. One of these artworks is the Elk Fountain. The Elk Fountain is located on SW Main between 3rd and 4th and the Plaza Blocks. It is said that the bronze elk structure was intended to commemorate elk that once grazed nearby. David P. Thomson, who served as the Mayor of Portland from 1879 to 1882 drove sheep to Portland over the Oregon Trail. Thompson served in the Oregon State Legislature and was twice elected Mayor of Portland, once in 1879 and again in 1881. The Elk fountain was created in 1900 by Roland Hinton, who sculpted the elk, H.G. Wright. Many have tried to have Thompson's elk removed because it can be considered a traffic obstacle, but the elk statue remains. (A car took out a chunk of the fountain once, but has since been fixed by Jonathan Taggart) In 1974, Thompson's elk and the Plaza Blocks were designated as Historic Landmarks.