Fountain returns to Triangle Park
The cast iron fountain that’s been a staple in McGregor’s Triangle Park is back in its rightful place after much-needed restoration. (Photo by Audrey Posten)
By Audrey Posten, North Iowa Times
The cast iron fountain that’s been a staple in McGregor’s Triangle Park since the early 1990s returned to its rightful home at the end of September.
The fountain was removed from the downtown park late last fall for some much-needed repairs.
“It was tipped over in the tornado,” resulting in damage to the base and plumbing, said park board president Maria Brummel. “But even before that, there was a plan to sand blast and powder coat it. It was really coated with heavy mineral deposits from the water.”
City workers helped extract the roughly 700-pound structure, then it was left in the capable hands of Mike Sloan, a McGregor-area resident who also recently completed the new mortar and pestle hanging outside the McGregor Pharmacy.
The fountain, which Sloan called “an icon of the community,” was admittedly one of his odder projects. It went fairly smoothly, though.
“It was mostly cosmetic,” he shared. “After they pulled it out, I took it apart and sand blasted it. There were three pieces to it. A new base was fabricated to hold the upper part of the fountain in the basin.”
He was shocked the structural damage wasn’t worse.
“[The tornado] didn’t break the upper part,” he said. “I was surprised because that’s pretty delicate.”
Once that was completed, the parts were treated with phosphoric acid, to protect the metal, then powder coated by a company in Dubuque. Sloan said powder coating should provide a more durable finish.
“But only time will tell,” he noted.
The fountain was first installed in Triangle Park in 1991, replacing one erected in the late 1800s as a memorial to Blake Reynolds, the only child of steamboat magnate Diamond Jo Reynolds and his wife, Mary, who owned the building that now houses Old Man River, across from the park. Mary later donated Triangle Park to the city.
“The Tourist Club wanted to do a service project for the town,” Brummel recalled. Members had hoped to restore the Reynolds fountain, “but it was way past gone.” So they raised funds for a new one instead.
The reproduction fountain was appropriate to the time period of the original, coming “from an authentic pre-Civil War pattern, produced as they were more than a century ago,” according to an article about the fountain dedication in the June 10, 1992 North Iowa Times.
The basin was one of the major differences between the new and old models, Brummel said.
“The old one had a much deeper cement basin, and kids could stand in it,” she shared. “Out of concern for safety, we went for a more shallow basin [with the new one.]”
Brummel estimated the last time the current fountain received a facelift was two decades ago. It was painted black at the time because the original coppery-green color was too difficult to replicate.
She’s happy to see it in place again, in all its splendor.
“It finally all came together,” she said, voicing appreciation for Sloan and the city workers, as well as Pat and Ben Mullarkey, who helped with the electrical work, and Matt and Joe’s Plumbing, Heating and HVAC, which helped with the plumbing.
“I love the fountain, and I think others love it,” Brummel added. “I enjoy seeing people sitting in the park, eating lunch, enjoying the trees and the fountain. It’s good to have it back.”
She hopes Mary Reynolds is just as pleased.
“It’s still in memory of Blake,” Brummel quipped.
