WTF is a Benson Bubbler?

A bubbler is an old fashioned name for a drinking fountain.

A Benson Bubbler is a drinking fountain named after Simon Benson, the rich guy who donated 20 of them to the city of Portland in the early days of the 20th century.

Benson gave the City of Portland $10,000 for the installation of twenty bronze drinking fountains. These fountains, known as Benson Bubblers, are still in use in downtown Portland. It is said that the fountains were put in to dissaude workers on his hotel from going to a bar to get a drink of water and then decide on an alcoholic beverage instead.