Benson Bubbler

These are very convenient if you exercise through downtown or just need water for anything. The constant flow purges any unwanted stuff from the homeless, etc. The water is filtered from Bull Run and I’ve never had it taste bad. It’s probably better than plastic-​infused bottled stuff that wastes resources. Dry cities wouldn’t allow such flows but it seems OK here.
Some of them don’t flow so well (e.g. Salmon and 18^th) but most are decent. Not sure if gravity flow is the main factor. They’ve restricted the pipes in modern times to save water. Be sure to know the shutoff hours if you come to depend on them.
Check out the relocated Benson house at PSU with a faucet and plaques in front of it. That’s how I first learned their name.

People let their dogs drink out of these. Enjoy.

I like the concept, design, and philosophy.
However, I will probably never use one since I saw a girl let her dog get on its hindlegs and drink directly from the fountain.
I don’t think my hygiene preferences are unreasonable.

These Benson Bubblers are way cool. What you probably didn’t know about them is that they’re actually fed by a giant, 70-​mile long pipe that runs directly up to thousand-​year-​old pristine glacier water on Mt. Hood. The H2O flowing from these spigots actually rained down upon this earth many eons ago and has been resting dormant in the form of glacial ice ever since. As the rest of the world has become more contaminated, these bubblers provide a delicious link to a pristine past.
Actually, that’s all bullshit. But wouldn’t it be funny to think that the homeless people in Portland are drinking from and showering in historic water?
This bubbler has saved my dry, thirsty, and drunken mouth many times. I’m not afraid of these things like everyone else seems to be (excepting of Andrew C). The water coming out of the bubbler hole is fresh and clean (as fresh and clean as city water can be — which in Portland is pretty fresh and clean). If anything has been soiled, it’s the bowl around the bubbler, not the part you’re drinking from.
Buying bottled water is terrible for the environment, and Portland City water is incredibly drinkable. Why pay for something you can get for free? Right on the street! From a cool and historic piece of Portlandia?
Heck, if you squint your eyes and roll the water across your tongue, you might even be able to taste the glacier! ;)