The Bagley Memorial Fountain is a historic fountain in Downtown

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

. It has recently been moved from its long-time location in

Campus Martius Park Campus Martius Park ( ') is a re-established park in Downtown Detroit, Michigan. After the fire of 1805, Campus Martius (from the Latin for ''Field of Mars'', where Roman heroes walked) was the focal point of Judge Augustus Woodward's plans to ...

to a new location just down the street in

Cadillac Square Park Campus Martius Park ( ') is a re-established park in Downtown Detroit, Michigan. After the fire of 1805, Campus Martius (from the Latin for ''Field of Mars'', where Roman heroes walked) was the focal point of Judge Augustus Woodward's plans to ...

. The fountain was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

and designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1971. The John N. Bagley House (1889) at 2921 East Jefferson Avenue in Detroit was constructed for Governor Bagley's son, and is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

John J. Bagley

John J. Bagley John Judson Bagley (July 24, 1832 – July 27, 1881) was a politician from the US state of Michigan, as well as the 16th governor of Michigan. Early life in New York and Michigan Bagley was born in Medina, New York to John and Mary M. (Smith) B ...

was the 16th governor of Michigan, serving from 1873 to 1877.Bagley Memorial Fountain
from the city of Detroit Bagley also served as a Detroit Alderman from 1860 to 1861 and as Police Commissioner from 1865 to 1872. He was instrumental in the creation of the Detroit Metropolitan Police Commission and the construction of the first

Detroit House of Corrections The Detroit House of Correction (DeHoCo), opened in 1861, was owned and run by the City of Detroit but originally accepted prisoners from throughout the state including women. This was the first State operated prison for female felons. The state re ...

. When Bagley died in 1881, his will contained $5,000 for the construction of a drinking fountain for the people of Detroit, having "water cold and pure as the coldest mountain stream."

Fountain

In 1885, the Bagley family chose

Henry Hobson Richardson Henry Hobson Richardson, FAIA (September 29, 1838 – April 27, 1886) was an American architect, best known for his work in a style that became known as Richardsonian Romanesque. Along with Louis Sullivan and Frank Lloyd Wright, Richardson is one ...

to design the fountain.Jeffrey Karl Ochsner
''H.H. Richardson, Complete Architectural Works,'' MIT Press, 1982, , p. 400. In 1887, the Bagley Memorial Fountain was dedicated at the corner of

Woodward Avenue A woodward is a warden of a wood. Woodward may also refer to: Places ;United States * Woodward, Iowa * Woodward, Oklahoma * Woodward, Pennsylvania, a census-designated place * Woodward Avenue, a street in Tallahassee, Florida, which bisects th ...

and Fort Street. Richardson constructed the fountain entirely out of pink Bragville granite, modeled after a ciborium located in St. Mark's Basilica in

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The isla ...

. The Bagley Memorial Fountain stands 21 feet high with a basin 7 feet across. At the center of the fountain, four lion heads distribute water. In the original design, two of the heads produced "normal" temperature water and the other two produced cold water, chilled by ice packed around the fountain pipes. The inscription on the four sides of the cornice reads: TESTAMENTARY GIFT , FOR THE PEOPLE FROM , JOHN JVDSON BAGLEY , A.D. MDCCCLXXXVII.

Later moves

In 1926 the fountain was moved from its original home at Woodward and Fort to Campus Martius, because of the increase of automobile traffic. In 2000, the fountain was removed from its site, disassembled, and put into storage."Bagley Fountain Makes a Comeback,"
''In the Flow,'' Detroit Water and Sewerage Department, V7 n1 (Winter 2007) In 2007, the fountain was installed in its current location in Cadillac Square; a new lion fountainhead replaced the original, which was stolen. It is the only remaining work by Richardson in the Detroit area.

References

{{Downtown Detroit Fountains in Michigan Monuments and memorials in Detroit Downtown Detroit Drinking fountains in the United States Granite sculptures in Michigan 1885 sculptures Michigan State Historic Sites in Wayne County, Michigan National Register of Historic Places in Detroit 1885 establishments in Michigan Relocated buildings and structures in Michigan Henry Hobson Richardson buildings Richardsonian Romanesque architecture in Michigan Tourist attractions in Detroit

John J. Bagley

Fountain

Later moves

See also

References