Work begins on $500,000 overhaul of fountain at Fellows gardens

By Elise Franco

efranco@vindy.com

Youngstown

A complete overhaul of the 33-year-old fountain at Fellows Riverside Gardens is under way.

The Helen and K. Calvin Sommer Fountain was built in 1977 in the center of the Seasonal Celebration Plaza and operated until several years of mechanical problems forced its shutdown in 2008, said Keith Kaiser, Mill Creek MetroParks horticulture director.

Kaiser said September is the two-year anniversary of when the fountain was turned off.

He said the Friends of Fellows Riverside Gardens, along with the MetroParks, spent the past year raising money for the $500,000 project.

Construction crews began demolition work Sept. 8.

“We have been making great progress with removal at this point, as far as the old fountain and walkways around it up to the south terrace,” he said.

Kaiser said weather permitting, construction of the new fountain and walkways around the fountain should be completed by November.

The renovations will include new walkways from the fountain to the south terrace along the perennial garden and around the fountain, rebuilding of the miniature rose beds and installation of a new fountain basin and mechanical systems, Kaiser said.

Read the full story Monday in The Vindicator and on Vindy.com.