Fountain Square Set to Replace Its Landmark Fountain

 Neighborhood Celebrating Start of Work on September 8

INDIANAPOLIS (September 8, 2009) –  After more than a decade of efforts to upgrade the fountain in Fountain Square, work begins on September 8 to swap the current pioneer family sculpture for a 15-foot cast-iron period-reproduction of “Lady Spray” that topped the neighborhood’s original fountain built in 1889. 

Southeast Neighborhood Development (SEND) will also host a celebration on September 8 — the day when workers remove the pioneer sculpture and take it to its temporary home in Garfield Park. The $650,000 project — which also includes removing the existing median and installing a rough limestone median — is scheduled to be completed November 23.

The project began in 1996 with a design competition soliciting improvements to the Virginia Avenue intersection and the Ralph Hill Memorial Fountain. In 1998, the area strategic plan identified the proposed improvements as a priority from public space, infrastructure and overall economic development standpoints.

Since then, SEND, the Fountain Square Merchants Association, and others worked to make the proposed improvements a reality. And, in 2003, the project received a $500,000 Federal Transportation Enhancement grant through the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) to begin a two-phase project to replace the fountain and rework the intersection and public space in the center of Fountain Square. After a string of complications, INDOT selected Linkel Company of Batesville, Ind. as the contractor for the first phase of the project in June, 2009.

Green 3, a Fountain Square landscape architecture firm, NINebark, Inc. and R.W. Armstrong designed Phase 1 of the project. It is managed through SEND’s Fountain Square Main Street Program, part of the LISC Indianapolis FOCUS Program.

The project’s currently unfunded second phase includes intersection improvements, creation of a public plaza with a new fountain for the Pioneer Family sculpture, general streetscape improvements including pavements, street lighting, safety signal upgrades and signage. Phase 2 will create the terminus to the Cultural Trail in Fountain Square.

 Funky.  Artsy.  Retro.  Anything but square. Just southeast of downtown, this off-beat European-style village really does center around a town square and historic fountain. Vintage antique shops, working artist's galleries and live performances mingle with neighborhood restaurants and ethnic eateries.

About Fountain Square
Fountain Square is an historic commercial and residential neighborhood located south east of downtown Indianapolis. The district blends retro and new art influences in its architecture and the unique collection of art galleries, independent restaurants, local retailers, antique shops and one-of-a-kind entertainment destinations. The Fountain Square Main Street Program, part of the Indianapolis FOCUS (Fostering Commercial Urban Strategies) Initiative, is a program of Southeast Neighborhood Development (SEND). The Fountain Square Cultural District is part of the Indianapolis Cultural Districts Initiative, and SEND serves as the lead organization in Fountain Square.

About SEND
SEND is a non-profit community development corporation created by residents to revitalize the near southeast side of Indianapolis and to enhance the quality of life of its diverse spectrum of residents.

http://www.DiscoverFountainSquare.com
http://www.sendcdc.org
http://www.focusindy.com
http://www.culturalindy.com