SPRINGFIELD — Here are two words you might not think of right away in describing a water fountain: “approachable” and “inviting.”
City of Springfield Public Works Director Dave Fuchs, whose Municipal Building West office overlooks the fountain on Howarth Plaza at Seventh and Monroe streets, said it’s almost impossible for families–mom, dad, grandparents, aunts and uncles and children–to pass by it without stopping or walking over to engage it.
He’s seen it firsthand.
“It’s kind of a little routine, but (the fountain is) so approachable,” Fuchs said recently. “I can’t imagine how many folks have prom pictures, wedding pictures, graduation pictures and vacation pictures or photos from family outings downtown in their family albums.”
Time has taken its toll, however.
The landmark fountain, actually, three fountains in a series of cascading pools, hasn’t been operable since 2024, so the city has made the decision to remove the structure and convert it into a green space, Fuchs said.
That could entail planting grass, trees, bushes or flowers or a combination of all of that, he said. No final decisions have been made.
Greenery dots a number of spots on the plaza, named for Nelson O. Howarth, who served as Springfield Mayor from 1955 to 1959 and from 1963 to 1971 and initiated construction of the new Municipal Building, according to SangamonLink.
There isn’t a ready timeline for the fountain’s removal, but Fuchs said most likely Streets Department crews will take care of it.
Fuchs said there were problems with everything from the concrete walls of the pools to the electrical wiring for the lights that illuminated the water as it flew into the air.
“Anything that deals with water has a tendency to degrade over time,” he said.
The fountain, which dates from 1962, then-sported a “unique and contemporary” design, Fuchs said.
The fountains were donated by the Roman Cultural Society, which also helped with funds to complete a pedestrian bridge between the east and west buildings.
That bridge spans a concrete sculpted fountain and pool funded by the family Charles H. Spaulding, a Springfield scientist and innovator known for his contributions to the purification of water supplies.
Two summers ago, when the fountain out front last ran, Fuchs said, the lower pool was losing water so quickly “that we couldn’t even keep the upper two pools filled to cascade.
“The concrete walls of the pool, especially the lower one, were degrading. We’ve patched it every summer that I’ve been here (since 2023), and I know they had been patching way before (that). It finally got to the point where there wasn’t anything to patch onto.”
The motors that run the water pumps are no longer manufactured and haven’t been for a long time, Fuchs pointed out. The last time the city had one repaired, “we basically had to have it rebuilt. Some of the parts had to be hand fabricated. All the wiring for (the lighting), the last time we tried to hook it all up, it literally crumbled into our hands.”
If it’s been “approachable,” it’s also been “useable,” Fuchs said.
Ducks and geese took to it like, well, water.
Every so often, someone would do their laundry in it, Fuchs said.
“The first summer I was here, we had one gentleman who shaved his head in it every day,” he recalled. “On occasion, we had to fish young ladies who were taking a swim in it.”
The city annually dyed the water pink for Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October.
Roman Cultural Society President Anthony Nestler said it was “a heavy lift” for the organization at the time to donate the fountains.
Nestler said he met with Mayor Misty Buscher to see if the organization could be involved in the next phase of the project.
“I think it’s really cool that the society did that at the time they did, especially because the organization was so young,” Nestler said. “I was very appreciative that Mayor Buscher reached out to us because we were involved in the original underwriting of the project. Our philanthropy (now) is more focused on charities and scholarships.”
While there have been no specific decisions made about what’s going into the space, Fuchs said, there have been conversations with the mayor’s office and other leadership for “the best course of action.” There already have been suggestions from a butterfly garden to a sculpture of a giant Lincoln-head penny.
“We’re kind of coming up with ideas and having discussions with leadership in trying to decide the course of action,” Fuchs said. “It’s individual and group tastes, what would be most appropriate. There’s been a lot of suggestions, but I think everyone’s most comfortable with the green space.”
Contact Steven Spearie: 217-622-1788; sspearie@sj-r.com; X, twitter.com/@StevenSpearie.
This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Exclusive: Once prominent fountain in Springfield is going away
Reporting by Steven Spearie, Springfield State Journal-Register / State Journal-Register
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