Detroit ready to revamp iconic Dodge Fountain in Hart Plaza

The city of Detroit has begun prepping for the renovation of Hart Plaza’s historic Dodge Fountain, which has been turned on only intermittently in recent years.  

Fences are up and preparations for repairs began Tuesday, the city said in a news release.

“Restoring the iconic fountain and revitalizing this historic space is not just about bricks and mortar; it's about preserving our heritage, honoring our past and embracing a vibrant future,” said LaJuan Counts, executive director of Detroit’s construction and demolition department, in the release.

The restoration of the fountain is the centerpiece of a $9 million project to upgrade Hart Plaza. The funding is coming from the American Rescue Plan Act, a COVID-19 relief bill passed in 2021.

The work of modernist artist Isamu Noguchi, the fountain is a stainless steel ring held 24 feet in the air by two cylindrical legs over a black granite pool. Its 300 water jets spray water up and over the ring and cascade water down in a curtain.

City officials previously said the fountain in recent years has been operating on "duct tape and a prayer," and only at the request of event organizers, who have to pay to have it turned on. 

Background:Hart Plaza's futuristic fountain might gush again. The story behind the effort

The evaluation and restoration process includes removing metal panels from the fountain’s dome, and repairing jets, lighting and plumbing before reassembling the structure, the city said. The upgrades are expected to be finished by spring.

Other upgrades to the plaza include fixing the leak-prone amphitheater, but the updates will be done after the fountain work is completed.

“(Hart Plaza) is a place that has drawn people from all over the world. But more specifically, Detroiters have used this as their touchstone here at Hart Plaza,” said Phil Talbert, president of Detroit-based Total Access Events, in the release.

“This is where people meet. You don’t say, ‘Meet me at the corner of Jefferson and Woodward,’ you say meet me at the Hart Plaza fountain. Young people have played here, people have been married here, people have been engaged here.”