Crews prepare Tivoli Fountain for $757,000 repair

Crews will remove the large tulip-shaped tubs from Tivoli Fountain on the Capitol Campus this week to prepare for its upcoming repair, according to Linda Kent, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Enterprise Services.

“They’re just being moved so they’re out of the way, basically,” she said Tuesday.

A $757,000 reconstruction project is scheduled to begin Monday to repair the 64-year-old fountain’s failing piping and mechanical systems, Kent said.

Between Feb. 15 and March 7, crews will use jackhammers to remove the fountain’s concrete basin floors. People can expect noise and limited pedestrian access during that time. The oval walkway around the fountain will be blocked on the southeast side during construction.

“Pedestrians will be able to use the sidewalk on the south side of the (southern diagonal road to the Capitol) as well as the sidewalk along Capitol Way to avoid this closure area,” states a DES news release.

The project’s contractor is Waunch Construction & Trucking of Littlerock, and the project is expected to be finished June 13, Kent said.

Much of the work, such as installing LED lighting and water-conserving spray nozzles and jets, will make the fountain more energy efficient, Kent said.

While the state has made many minor repairs to the fountain since its dedication in 1953, most of the major components, including the piping, have never been replaced.

The campus fountain is a replica of a Roman-style fountain in Tivoli Park in Copenhagen, Denmark, which in turn mimics elements of a famous fountain in Tivoli, Italy. The Olympia fountain was donated to the state by the Olympia-Tumwater Foundation. It typically operates April 1 to Oct. 31 each year.

This story was originally published February 7, 2017 at 10:58 AM with the headline "Crews prepare Tivoli Fountain for $757,000 repair."