Historic fountain returns to Court Square
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The historic fountain, which once graced Main Street 60 years ago, is back on Court Square at the spot formerly occupied by the gazebo. The water was turned on for the first time Friday afternoon and it didn’t take long for the fountain to make a positive impression.
“I didn’t expect it to be as nice and beautiful as it is,” said Public Works director Bill Brock. “Especially at night when the lights are on it really looks great.”
Christmas carolers who gathered at First Presbyterian Church Friday evening made their way to Court Square to sing around the fountain.
“It was sort of an impromptu thing,” said Vice Mayor Patti Nunley, a member at First Presbyterian. “When we heard the fountain was on, everybody wanted to go down and see it and it’s just gorgeous. It was stopping traffic.”
The fountain, which is around 7 feet tall, stands in a 16-foot diameter pool of water. There are eight jets surrounding the fountain that shoot water about three feet in the air. Water also trickles down from a small jet at the top of the fountain and makes its way down four levels until it flows into the large pool at the base.
It’s the same fountain that was removed from downtown in the 1940s. Local residents Rickie and Ruby Northcutt had been storing it for many years before recently returning it to the city of McMinnville.
Jim McGaw, who performed restoration work on the Hebe statue, also restored the fountain. McGaw donated his time for both projects.
Other fountain-related costs, including the water pump and filtration system, put the price around $75,000. The Rotary Club of McMinnville helped with the costs by donating $15,000.
For all the excitement surrounding the fountain, it is currently drained and turned off. Brock indicated work will take place over the next week to attach seating to the fountain base.
Red benches will eventually be placed around the fountain area and the Department of Urban Forestry is scheduled to perform landscaping work as a final touch.