Fountain Park

Statue: A statue of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was unveiled in 1978.

1 Decorative Fountain

History:

When the Aubert Place subdivision was laid out by John Lay in 1857, a central oval shaped area was reserved for a park space. In 1889, it was donated by Lay to the city and was named Fountain Park, because of the fountain that was placed there was as a gift from the Merchants Exchange. It had been in the Exchange's trading hall for some years as a gift from John A. Scudder. Previously, it had graced Scudder's home near Grand Avenue and Olive Street. As an outdoor fountain, it proved to be a failure. It was constructed of flimsy materials causing the figures to be blown down during any ordinary storm. Also, the diameter of the iron ground basin was too small in comparison to the height of the fountain, causing the spray to be carried outside of the basin by the wind. During 1904, both the old house and the large fountain received two coats of paint to improve the appearance of the area. The fountain was renovated in 1964.

William Severson of Ladue was the sculptor for the renovation of the fountain and Karl Kraus was the contractor. The cost of this renovation was $4,660. The work was done as part of $15,400 renovation of the park. The work was paid for out of the 1955 Bond Issue funds.

The process employed included creation of molds of details that were missing by using those details that remained. Details were cast from the molds using epoxy reinforced by fiberglass cloth. The main body of the fountain was sand blasted and repainted with zinc epoxy to protect and preserve it. New plumbing was installed and the interior of the fountain was filled with concrete to add strength. Epoxy glass cloth reinforcement was applied to the existing bowls.

The original fountain material was cast iron that had become badly pitted by the time of the renovation. It was estimated that the fountain had been in service over 50 years when finally renovated. It was the opinion of the sculptor that the renovation work had left the fountain in better condition then when it was cast.