Section Branding
Header Content
Inside the iron repair shop where Savannah's beloved Forsyth Park fountain is getting a makeover
Hero Image
Primary Content
LISTEN: GPB's Benjamin Payne tours the Alabama repair shop where Savannah's Forsyth Park fountain is undergoing a major restoration project.
For generations, the Forsyth Park fountain has stood as the beating heart of Savannah: a gloss-white cast-iron masterpiece drawing tourists and locals alike, serving as the backdrop for many a prom photoshoot and even some weddings.
But right now, it's nowhere to be seen in the Hostess City of the South — or anywhere else in Georgia, for that matter.
Instead, the fountain is tucked away some 300 miles west, after having been carefully dismantled in June and transported by flatbed truck to Alexander City, Ala., a small town of about 15,000.
There, the landmark is being painstakingly restored, piece by intricate piece.
"It's hard to tell exactly where some of these pieces come apart until you get them cleaned," said Luke Robinson, co-owner of Robinson Iron, as he walked through the metal repair shop at his family business.
The Forsyth Park fountain, built in 1858 for $2,200 (about $85,000 in today's dollars), presents a complex puzzle for Robinson and his team.
"This was built in the mid-1800s, so nobody was welding," Robinson explained. "Everybody was bolting things together, so you had to cast them in smaller pieces. A lot of this now, we would probably weld together."
Robinson doesn't have an exact count, but he estimates the fountain consists of hundreds of individual pieces, each requiring careful attention during the restoration process.
Workers have had to tag many of the pieces in order to know where they go back together once the fountain is ready to be reassembled.
Among the most recognizable components: the four mermen who sit in the fountain's basin, blowing water through seashells.
"We've already detached all of them, cleaned them all, and put a zinc primer coating on them," Robinson said. "You want to do that quickly because cast iron will oxidize practically immediately, just with the moisture in the air."
Not all of the Forsyth Park fountain is cast iron, though. Over the years since its construction, some parts were recast in bronze and aluminum, creating a bit of a Frankenstein fountain.
But you'd likely never know that, thanks to the fountain's signature gloss-white paint — and there is a lot of paint to sandblast off. About 40 coats have accumulated from routine maintenance by the city since Robinson Iron conducted the fountain's last major restoration in 1988.
"There is a lot of detail, and a lot of it you probably couldn't see because of the years and years — decades — of paint that had been applied," Robinson said. "So, I think when this comes back, people will be a little astounded at how much more detail there is to this."
The fountain — which was last removed from Forsyth Park over 100 years ago, according to the city — is scheduled to be completely restored and reinstalled by the end of the year, with Robinson saying that October is "not out of the question."
The restoration team has made some unexpected discoveries, including parts stained green from the city's annual tradition of dyeing the fountain ahead of Savannah's raucous St. Patrick's Day parade.
Taking a close look at the tall grass behind the herons in the fountain's center, Robinson notices something else.
"That's funny: just as we're looking, you find somebody had thrown a penny in there," he said with a laugh.
Every ornamental fountain his company restores typically yields between $100 and $150 worth of change — sort of.
"Now, a lot of it is really no good anymore because it has been so chlorinated or it's been just in the muck and in the mire," he said of the condition of the coins. "So, you're just left with just a little round chalky cylinder, almost. I mean, I've been able to break pennies in half."
Robinson Iron is coordinating on the project with historic preservationists at the Savannah-based firm Landmark Preservation, where partner John Ecker emphasizes that returning the fountain to its former glory isn't just about tending to the artistry, but also the plumbing.
"A lot of the swans haven't worked correctly over the years," Ecker explained. "So, our goal is to make sure that everything is plumbed correctly and originally. I think you'll see a more vibrant spray pattern and everything will be working again."
The restoration team's goal is to repair and reuse as much original material as possible, with Robinson noting that "that's where the history is," although parts that are no longer structurally sound will need to be recast.
Robinson said the fountain's pool is so large that the public can't get close enough "to really see how the sausage is made," referring to tubing and structural support.
"That's a good thing, because it adds to the allure," he said. "It's more magical when it's further away."
The Forsyth Park fountain isn't exactly unique to Savannah; it was purchased from a catalog of the New York City-based iron foundry of Janes, Beebe & Co., which advertised the model plainly as "No. 5."
According to an exhaustive 640-page report in 1993 titled "The Monuments and Fountains of Savannah," authored by the history department of Armstrong State College (now Georgia Southern University's Armstrong campus in Savannah), the design was a copy of a French cast-iron fountain manufactured by Parisian sculptor J.P. Victor Andre's iron foundry and displayed at the 1851 Crystal Palace Exhibition world's fair in London.
Several other "No. 5" fountains were ordered by other customers and still exist today, including in Poughkeepsie, N.Y.; Madison, Ind.; and Cusco, Peru.
When Savannah's was first activated on Aug. 1, 1858, an unforeseen problem arose: The mermen "spouted water too vigorously," according to the Armstrong report, "giving passersby a shower!"
To solve the issue, the city ordered a bigger basin for $1,500.
Back in his office, Robinson reflected on the significance of what's in his care — not just cast iron, but a piece of Savannah's soul.
"I think the Forsyth fountain is the most iconic fountain in the country," he said. "The Buckingham Fountain in Chicago is a big deal. There's the Bartholdi Fountain, which we restored too, which is in Washington, D.C. That's a big deal. But to me, the Forsyth Park fountain is so important. It's in such a beautiful area. All the old trees, the history, the Spanish moss everywhere. Just the beauty of it all."
The fountain's importance to Savannah became crystal clear to Robinson during a recent business trip.
"I flew into Cleveland to go look at another fountain that we're going to be restoring," he recalls. "And when I got off the plane, the first thing I saw in the airport was 'Now serving flights to Savannah,' and there was a picture of the Forsyth Park fountain. So, it's a big deal for Savannah, and we know that."
The restoration project received unanimous approval from Savannah City Council in May, with Alderwoman Bernetta Lanier championing the investment before making a motion to fund the $650,000 project.
"This is one of our, if not the most, outstanding assets that we have here in the city," Lanier said. "The reason it's so beautiful and it graces postcards and movies is because we make this type of investment in it…When we take care of our assets, our assets take care of us."
Immediately after the vote, Savannah Mayor Van Johnson didn't mince words: "Get it done. Get our baby back to us soon."
Robinson said there haven't been any major surprises during the restoration — "and that's a positive thing, since a lot of times when we get into a fountain restoration, we'll find something that is much worse than we thought."
The Forsyth Park fountain arrived "in pretty good shape, relatively speaking," although Robinson noted that some pieces were literally being held together by paint.
"You've got to get through a lot of corrosion," he explained. "And once you clean some of these pieces, you realize some of this was actually being held together by paint — not because people weren't taking care of it, but just because it's the nature of the beast. So, some of the pieces will have to be replaced. I don't think there's anything that needs to be replaced that I didn't think would need to be replaced."
For Greg Jacobs, a partner at Landmark Preservation, the restoration represents a chance to address details that most people never notice.
"There's a very small percentage of weirdos like me that really dial in and look at the thing in a finer level of detail and say, 'Oh my gosh, that thing's broken,' or, 'Look at all the paint accumulation,' or, 'Boy, that needs to be fixed,'" he said. "I'll call it an occupational hazard."
Secondary Content
Author
Bottom Content
