Oregon Zoo to remove historic mural by Will Martin, late Courthouse Square designer

Schoolchildren visiting the mural in 1970 (photo courtesy Tanya March)

BY TANYA MARCH AND VAL BALLESTREM

In 1959, architect and artist Will K. Martin, of the Eugene firm Wilmsen & Endicott, won a design competition for the entrance wall to the new Portland Zoological Gardens. Martin’s design, a 50-foot long mosaic mural, was the background for a freestanding sculptural “tree of life” and shallow fountain pool. In the pools were statuettes of turtles that quickly became a favorite attraction of young visitors to the zoo. Martin’s zoo entrance mural is similar to what other parks and zoos were erecting in the late 1950s, according to Kristen Overbeck Laise, Director of Rescue Public Murals, an organization that seeks to document and bring attention to the historic and artistic significance of murals in the United States.

The sponsors of the design competition at the City of Portland hoped that a magnificent Zoo entrance would be a highlight of the 1959 Oregon Centennial celebration. But the development of the entrance was not without its challenges.

In a September 15, 1958 letter from Portland Zoo Commissioner Herbert R. Ketell to Loyal C. Lang of the Portland Zoo Commission, Ketell noted that the project lacked adequate funding. The Zoo sought $115,000, including $25,000 for an entrance replete with pre-historic monsters created out of mosaic tile, along with a water fountain as a loan from the Park Department’s “windfall” money or the general fund. The project goal was to have the entrance completed in time for the Zoo’s grand opening in June 1959. A lack of funding remained an issue however, and it was not until one year later, on September 15, 1959, that the Portland City Council passed an ordinance to hire Martin.

For a modest sum of $7,000 Martin was to complete the installation of the mosaic tile mural within 45 days. According to city records, the short project timeline was so that work would be completed before the first frost. Martin was known as a tenacious and vocal architect and it may be that he used some of the same tactics (like speaking directly to City Council) that he later employed when competing for the design of Pioneer Courthouse Square – another competition that he ultimately won.

Martin's zoo mural today (photo by Tanya March)

The Martin-designed entrance has been closed off for several years, and the under-utilized space is currently blocked by chain-link fencing. The mural will soon be replaced as the zoo embarks on a much-needed expansion of their educational building. Regrettably, it is not deemed cost effective to move the mural to another site where future generations can enjoy its beauty. History, apparently, doesn't pencil out.

Thankfully, the zoo is being thoughtful about their expansion plans and they want to honor Will Martin’s historic contribution. To that end, they are currently documenting the mural prior to its dismantling. Katie Wisdom Weinstein, Public Arts Administrator for the Zoo, recently contacted Martin’s family and also the Architectural Heritage Center in order to help inform the community about the mural and its removal. 

The mural is an object of art and a free standing wall created by a beloved and controversial local architect who died tragically in the middle of his career, not long after the creation of his team’s winning design of Pioneer Courthouse Square.

 

Val C. Ballestrem is the Education Manager of the Architectural Heritage Center

Tanya March, Ph.D. is a historical consultant and the author of historicpreservationclub.blogspot.com

 

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Comments

[Doug Kelso]

I've always enjoyed the mural wall and the turtle pond. I remember when I went there as a child, there were often actual living turtles in it.

Up until today, though, it didn't even occur to me that the zoo's new education center would wipe out both the mural and the fountain/pool. That's really unfortunate; it was one of the very few things left from the "new" zoo in 1959 (and frankly, one of the only things worth keeping). It seems to me there should be a way to build around it.

[Laura]

If it's freestanding, it seems it could be re-used; it's a great visual and tactile connection to an earlier era of zoos--the time when animal welfare in zoos was just starting to become more than simply feeding and housing an animal for the public to see.

Doc Maberry, who was the zoo's first vet, wrote that the old zoo (where the Japanese Gardens are now) was so filthy and decrepit that it was held together only by the smell. Keepers had to climb over gates rusted shut to attend to animals. This mural represents a major turning point in how we view and care for animals.

[Jfinchhowell]

It would be great if the zoo could at least auction off the parts of the mosaic mural as a fundraiser, or distribute it to ensure it lives on in some fashion. There's art value and historic value in the mural, and I'd hate to see it just landfilled...