A fountain fallen from grace
141-year-old fixture to undergo repairs - with a hefty price tag
By David Abel, Globe Staff | June 12, 2009
For years, the chiseled sea nymphs and other Parisian-styled gods have existed in an ignominious purgatory in which their glory has been relegated to a perch for pigeons.
The only time the bronze statues have water sluicing through their pipes is when it rains.
The inglorious fate of the 141-year-old Brewer Fountain has long irked city officials and others who have admired its bygone grace near the northeast edge of the Boston Common, in the shadows of the State House.
Now, after years of effort to raise money since it ran dry in 2003, the city's oldest fountain is about to undergo a major restoration.
But the work comes at a steep cost for a city in financial straits. The budget for the project now stands at more than $630,000, which could rise depending on what contractors find when they examine the fountain more closely. About half of that money will come from city coffers, the rest from the federal government and private donors.
"The renovation of Boston Common is very important, and we see this as a first step, bringing back a wonderful attraction and amenity to that edge of the park," said Antonia Pollak, commissioner of the Boston Parks and Recreation Department.
The Brewer Fountain, the only known surviving copy of the original featured at the 1855 Paris World Fair, was imported from Switzerland by Gardner Brewer, a wealthy merchant, and assembled on the Common in 1868.
The first effort to repair the 22-foot-tall fountain began nearly a decade ago, when workers discovered extensive damage to the pipes and determined that the project would require much more money than anticipated. The fountain burbled until 2003, when its pump died.
Since then, private donors have raised money, and officials have sought matching grants from the federal government, but the city has treated the fountain like a sculpture and sought to spruce it up with plants, flowers, and other ornaments.
The City Council appropriated the money several years ago, city officials said, but it had to come up with tens of thousands of additional dollars this year, because the cost has increased. Despite the expense, the project is backed by Mayor Thomas M. Menino, as well as the City Council.
"It's the right thing to do," Menino said in an interview this week. "The fountains beautify our city. It makes our city alive. It's amazing how many people ask about fountains."
Councilor Michael P. Ross, who represents the Back Bay, said the project is part of a larger effort to improve the section of the Common along Tremont Street, an increasingly dingy area of the park that on many days looks like a homeless encampment.
"We need more positive activity in the area," Ross said.
Menino's challengers, Councilors at Large Sam Yoon and Michael F. Flaherty, both said they support the project.
The city maintains 21 fountains, park officials said, and the Brewer is one of four not working. The other fountains are in Coppens Square in Dorchester, in Statler Office Park near The Boston Park Plaza Hotel & Towers, and the White Memorial fountain in the Public Garden.
Margaret Dyson, the city's director of historical parks and the manager of the Brewer project, said the plan is to restore the bronze sculptures and the cast-iron central armature, to install a new mechanical pump and filtration system, to update surrounding light fixtures, and to repair the granite plinths and concrete basin. She said there are holes in several sculptures, which represent Neptune, Amphitrite (Neptune's wife), and Acis and Galatea, a couple from Greek mythology.
"As we lose more of the bronze and the structural element, the fountain could collapse," Dyson said. "That's why we can't defer the maintenance. We could cross our fingers and hope for the best, or we can do it now."
The city has recently cordoned off the fountain. Over the next few weeks, contractors will carefully clean it, inspect the piping, and take detailed pictures of every crevice. Then, they will dismantle it into about 14 pieces and ship it to Watertown, where a team of architects, engineers, electricians, plumbers, and conservators will spend several months trying to restore its luster.
The work should be finished and the fountain reassembled by November, said Clifford Craine, the art conservator in charge of the project for Daedalus Inc. in Watertown.
Michael Levenson of the Globe staff contributed to this report. David Abel can be reached at
dabel@globe.com.
