Monday, January 17, 2000
Tour at fountain heartens admirers
Preservation on schedule
BY EARNEST WINSTON
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Sandra Geiser of Clifton looks up to inspect work on the fountain Sunday, just as one of its child figures looks up at the Genius of Water.
(Steven M. Herppich photo)
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When the newly painted bronze pedestal is reunited with the granite base on Fountain Square tonight, the remaining restoration of the Tyler Davidson Fountain will be smooth sailing, a project architect said.
On Sunday, 70 people attended a Cincinnati Preservation Association-sponsored presentation, which included an update on the $2.2 million restoration, a slide show and a walk-through of the worksite.
“It's a critical piece of the puzzle,” architect Uriel Schlair of Chicago-based Harry Weese Associates said of the reunification of the pedestal with the base. Weese is the company responsible for the restoration.
It was announced Sunday that $3 million has been raised for the Cincinnati landmark, including money for the renovation and a maintenance endowment.
Attendees were shown computer-generated pictures of what the fountain will look like without the green color that visitors to Fountain Square are used to seeing.
But for many of the attendees, seeing the fountain up close was like children playing with new toys.
“I'm just filled with civic pride,” said downtown resident Chris Armstrong. He recalled when his family lived in Dayton, Ohio, and his father brought him to Cincinnati to see the fountain for the first time.
“I'm very excited,” Liz Scheurer of Westwood said as she perused the bronze pedestal, which sat on wooden blocks. “I'm so happy that they're returning it to its original historic look. I'm also very excited that they are changing light and water levels to highlight the details of the fountain and the story that the fountain tells. It will be much easier to read.”
The fountain, which was dedicated in 1871, had seriously corroded inside and was weather-beaten.
A $100,000 glass structure was built around the fountain to allow the public to monitor the progress of the restoration of the Genius of Water statue and the rest of the fountain.
“I think it's the most important (project) we've got in front of us,” Cincinnati City Councilman Jim Tarbell said about the restoration, comparing it to the stadium projects. “This is the one thing in Cincinnati everybody has a piece of.”
The fountain restoration is to be completed in time for the Reds' Opening Day on April 3.
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