Wander into the City of Roses, and you'll chance upon a relic with a retro allure – the Loyal B. Stearns Memorial Stone Fountain. This cat's got a 21st-century zing, crafted by the ingenious minds of A. E. Doyle and Associates in 1941. They erected this stone gem with a $5,000 will from Mr. L.B. Stearns, who shuffled off this mortal coil in 1936. Winning design from a 1941 contest, construction began before you knew it. By the numbers, it's 8 feet, 8 inches wide, 16 feet, 8 inches long, and 5 feet, 4 inches high, perched on a granite base that underpins the whole shebang.
The front is a trio of drinkin' fountains at varying heights, while the back dishes out a trough for the thirsty wanderers. The Smithsonian Institution hails it as part of its abstract art category, with Portland's Metropolitan Arts Commission overseeing its management in the past. But it's more than the memorial hard, it's got the gab, gabbing with new friends, like a retired globetrotter turned living art.
Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons
Written by Friendly Jane
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