The James Scott Memorial Fountain is a monument located in Belle Isle Park, in

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. Designed by architect

Cass Gilbert Cass Gilbert (November 24, 1859 – May 17, 1934) was an American architect. An early proponent of skyscrapers, his works include the Woolworth Building, the United States Supreme Court building, the state capitols of Minnesota, Arkansas and ...

and sculptor Herbert Adams, the fountain was completed in 1925 at a cost of $500,000. The lower bowl has a diameter of and the central spray reaches . The fountain honors the controversial James Scott, who left $200,000 to the City of Detroit for a fountain in tribute to himself.

History

Scott was left a sizable fortune by his father who invested in Detroit

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.Austin, Dan. According to contemporaries, Scott gambled and told off-color stories. He was described by twentieth-century author W. Hawkins Ferry as a " vindictive, scurrilous

misanthrope Misanthropy is the general hatred, dislike, distrust or contempt of the human species, human behavior or human nature. A misanthrope or misanthropist is someone who holds such views or feelings. The word's origin is from the Greek words μῖσ ...

" P. 44. who attempted to intimidate his business competitors and when this was unsuccessful, he filed suit. Perhaps for these reasons, Scott died in 1910 with no heirs or colleagues and he bequeathed his estate to the City of Detroit with the condition that the fountain include a life-sized bronze statue of him. P. 78. Some accounts state that the will required that the statue be at the fountain's pinnacle. Several community and religious leaders—including Bishop Charles D. Williams—spoke against accepting the bequest, saying that a person with Scott's reputation should not be immortalized in the city. Mayor

Philip Breitmeyer Philip Breitmeyer (May 13, 1864 – November 8, 1941) was a florist, one of the founders of Florists' Telegraph Delivery (now Florists' Transworld Delivery, or FTD), and the mayor of Detroit, Michigan. Biography Philip Breitmeyer was born in ...

and City Council President David Heineman urged accepting the gift, saying that the city shouldn't insult any of its citizens by refusing such a generous offer. While the debate raged, Scott's fortune continued to grow, topping $1 million by the time construction commenced. Since 2018, the

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INDYCAR race has used the Fountain as its podium backdrop. Drivers are known to dip into the fountain after a race win.

Design

The monument is located in Belle Isle Park, in

. Designed by architect

and sculptor Herbert Adams, the

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite. Marble is typically not foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the term ''marble'' refers to metamorphose ...

fountain was completed in 1925 at a cost of $500,000. The lower bowl has a diameter of and the central spray reaches . The final design placed Scott's statue in inconspicuous spot behind the fountain.

Movie appearances

A famous scene from the 1973 drama ''

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'', starring Gene Hackman and Al Pacino was filmed here. In the scene shortly after learning of the death of his estranged son (though falsified by the mother), Pacino's character Francis Lionel 'Lion' Delbuchi, happily plays with a group of children before, upon uncovering a deep emotional truth, he snatches one of them up and begins to ascend the fountain. He is left catatonic in a hospital following the incident. The fountain is also featured briefly in Anthony Mann's 1947 film noir ''

T-Men ''T-Men'' is a 1947 semidocumentary and police procedural style film noir about United States Treasury agents. The film was directed by Anthony Mann and shot by noted noir cameraman John Alton. The production features Dennis O'Keefe, Mary Mea ...

'', photographed by John Alton. Early in the film, two Treasury Agents preparing to go undercover discuss Detroit criminal gangs and gang activities while standing in front of the fountain.

Gallery

File:The James Scott Memorial Fountain, Belle Isle Park, Detroit, Mich (68300).jpg, Old postcard File:JSMFLIONDETAIL.jpg, Detail of one of fountain's lion figures File:JSMFLOWERBASINPOOL.jpg, Detail of one of the eight small pools in the lower basin File:JSMFLOWERBASIN.jpg, The lower basin File:JSMFDETROITINDUSTRYDETAIL.jpg, 16 separate reliefs depict life in the early days of Detroit File:Belle Isle casino and fountain - Detroit Michigan.jpg, The Belle Isle Casino is in the background of a dry James Scott Memorial Fountain

References

External links