Alba Park structure built for $7,000 provides cool water for pets, with plans to repair a nearby drinking fountain for people

An almost century-old fountain in downtown Medford has been restored, providing fresh water for thirsty dogs on hot summer days.

Located in Alba Park, the 1934 Palm Fountain that features an Italian marble statue of a boy with two dogs hasn’t worked for almost 30 years.

Thanks to $42,398 set aside by the Medford City Council, using money from local and state marijuana tax revenue, plumbing and pump upgrades for the fountain were completed by Van Row Mechanical of White City.

The fountain has a water basin for dogs, and Medford Parks and Recreation plans to repair a nearby drinking fountain for people.

Once the project is complete, both humans and dogs will be able to lap up water around the fountain.

The fountain was donated to the city by Charles W. and Callie Palm, a prominent Medford family who had two cocker spaniels. The couple moved to Medford in 1888, and Charles Palm had a real estate business and owned a number of downtown properties.

“They loved kids, but they never had kids,” said Rich Rosenthal, director of Medford Parks and Recreation.

According to articles from the former Medford Mail Tribune, archived by the Southern Oregon Historical Society, the statue is made of Carrara marble and was sculpted in Italy.

Before construction began, a small clay model of the statue was fashioned in Italy and sent to Callie Palm for her approval.

The pedestal, which supports the statue, is made from Oregon granite, on which an inscription reads: “Dedicated to the city of Medford by Charles W. & Callie Palm 1934.” Archives of the former Mail Tribune at truwe.sohs.org indicate the fountain was finished in 1935.

The cost of building the fountain was $7,000.

According to a Jan. 13, 1935, Mail Tribune article, “The marble used in the statue is the white imperial Italian marble from the Carrara marble quarries at Carrara, Italy, and the sculpturing was done there. As you will observe, it is of the very highest quality.”

The Oregon Granite Company helped secure the statue through the H. A. Whiteacre Company of New York City.

According to Thomas K. Flynn, who was superintendent of the construction company in charge of the 1934-35 project, the statue and pool is not a memorial to Charles Palm, who died prior to the installation of the fountain but is a gift from the Palm couple to the city of Medford.

Rosenthal said it wasn’t unusual at the time for local residents to invest in public projects.

“Medford attracted people with capital, and they invested capital back into the town,” he said.

Sometime in the 1980s, a wrought iron fence was installed around the fountain.  Rosenthal said the fence was required by state statute as a safety feature.

Refurbishing the statue has been on the city’s wish list for a long time, but there was a high probability of vandalism that delayed the project, Rosenthal said.

Now with the expanded Medford police Livability Team patrolling the downtown and with more residential in the surrounding area, the city decided to get the fountain flowing again, he said.

“For me personally, it represents the rejuvenation of downtown,” Rosenthal said.

To restore the drinking fountain — also finished in 1935 — Rosenthal estimates it will be about $7,500.

He said he walked his own dog through Alba Park to test the water basin for dogs.

“My dog visited it, but wasn’t interested in it,” Rosenthal said. 

Dan Ratty, a member of the Medford Parks Commission, has fond memories of the fountain when he was a child.

Born and raised in Medford, 74-year-old Ratty said, “I can remember walking to town with grandma to do our shopping.”

Back then shopping included going to a downtown grocery store and department stores.

“I remember going down to the fountain, especially in the summer,” Ratty said. “We could wade in that thing and it could kind of cool us off.”

On the way home, Ratty said the local butcher would give him a cold hot dog to eat, kind of like a popsicle.

When he was a child, Ratty said there wasn’t a fence around the fountain.

“It was probably the highlight of the day going down there in the water,” he said.

Reach freelance writer Damian Mann at dmannnews@gmail.com.