The Palmer Fountain.

[cman710]

szla, there are numerous ways to resize pictures, but the simplest if you do not have image editing software would be to use Paint, which is provided with Windows, to resize them smaller. Go to Programs --> Accessories --> Paint. Then once in paint, go to Image --> Stretch/Skew. Just make sure to type the same percentage in the vertical and horizontal boxes, or your images will not look right. You may need to do this a few times to get them as small as you want.

You can also use the tool here: http://www.shrinkpictures.com/. I have not used it , but it seems fairly easy.

[szla]

The horse trough on the back of the fountain.

[Retroit]

It still holds water!

They don't build horse troughs like they used to.

[szla]

neptune water spout.

[szla]

The headless turtle, frontal view from outer pool and lastly some progress or at least the trees and weeds gone.

[szla]

Front view of main fountain.

[BasementBeat]

Looking great!

BTW- Is there a "not the same time the Detroit Lions play" time for volunteers?

[cman710]

Great pictures! Thanks for posting them. Looks like you guys are making some good progress. Keep us updated.

[vetalalumni]

AWESOME!

These are the types of efforts needed. You can't buy this kind of progress. Priceless. Congratulations.

[szla]

A few more pics for those interested. The drinking fountain? The back of the baluster and the front of baluster with a lion head as water spout.

[szla]

More pics. Missing section of baluster. Hopefully it's being stored with the lion heads from the Lee Plaza. Cattail detail in the shell. Sea dog in shell?

[Galexc]

Here a few of my snaps from the end of day one.

[Galexc]

....end of Day 2.

[Stosh]

Has this fountain ever flowed in this location? Is there a reservoir for water? And also, isthere another turtle head similar to the one knocked off?

[Retroit]

I wonder if that metal cover on the ground in the lower right corner of this picture contains a electrical hook-up for a pump? Would a swimming pool pump be strong enough to "run" the fountain? Would the fountain hold water, or would it need some type of waterproofing? Any experts?

Great work to all those involved! You're an inspiration!

[szla]

There is no other turtle sculpture on the fountain. The metal cover at the back of the baluster is the access to the plumping. Almost all the plumbing pipes appear to be lead not any ferrous material. The perimeter apron at the base of the fountain appears to be granite and the steps also appear to be granite. It is also possible that the horse trough at the back is also granite. The fountain itself is white marble. I dont know where I saw it but I thought I saw a figure of 1400 gallons per minute flow through. I dont know how much electricity that would require. I dont know how much that is but I think it is about 5% of the Scott Fountain. The fountain will not hold water for any length of time at present. It is possible that there is a basin poured under the individual pieces. Pictures in the public domain are far and few. There is one picture on a WSU website that shows the fountain with water in it but it is not flowing. I have talked to people who grew up in Highland Park and Palmer Woods and they both thought fountain stopped flowing in the late 70s, early 80s-they think. When pressed they're not sure of anything. It definitely flowed into the 50s as there is reference to the city fixing the fountain but they didn't have the money to do it or something like that. There will be more status updates as we go along.

[szla]

Went back and read the entire thread to see where it started and where it went. To many of you who have never really been to the Palmer Park apartment neighborhood you should take a tour. I grew up on the west-side of Detroit and never really explored the area. I went to high school fairly close and and visited friends who lived in conventional houses close to Palmer Park. The first time saw the fountain I thought -how cool. That was it till about 20 years ago when I began to take a real interest in Detroit's architectural history. The neighborhood is one of the finest collections of apartment buildings anywhere. There are two buildings that are condos and 4 or 5 coops. The rest are in various stages of maintenance and are rentals. Some are dilapidated or even abandoned and criminal activity is too high. That being said it is a neighborhood that is far from gone and could be an absolutely stunning trendy neighborhood. I've gone in this direction as I feel the rehab of the fountain can only done and maintained if the neighborhood becomes a spot to throw interest, activity and money. We will be posting items that we think will generate interest, hopefully activity and tours. Stay tuned

[RickBeall]

Great work guys! It sure looks great.

[Retroit]

"1400 gallons per minute"? You might have misread that. Maybe it meant 1400 gallons? You would need a pump with the power of a fire hydrant to give 1400gpm. A swimming pool pump is more like 40gpm.

[Galexc]

Everything went well this week. We cleaned out most of the upper basin and welcomed 6nois to the group. I will post the newest photos soon and hope to see more people there this Sunday 9/27/09 @ 1:00pm.

[vetalalumni]

Love this thread.

[Rocko]

Great work by those involved. Active historic preservation in action! Keep it up and looking forward to seeing more photos.

[vetalalumni]

Great work by those involved. Active historic preservation in action! Keep it up and looking forward to seeing more photos.

Totally agree. People may not realize the difference they are making. And they deserve appreciation. They do not "have to" do any of this. My next trip to "The D" will include an explicit visit to the fabulous Palmer Fountain. And I'll be full of pride, knowing how the work these people did made it so. Damn straight.

[PCE]

Wow. This is really incredible. From Kensingtonys original post on August 6th to community mobilization in less than 2 months. My hats off to you guys.
szla, I'm wondering if you know what it would take to get the fountain functioning. If it's something that could be handled with a backhoe and a few thousand bucks in materials, that would seem doable. I've got a couple of buddies that may be able to donate some equipment time. I cannot promise you anything but I would be more than happy to try.
Financially, I am totally upside down right now but I can absolutely find an extra 50 bucks or something to send you if that would be helpful.

[szla]

This really is one of those places that you read about as a child. It is a beautiful fountain in the midst of a beautiful park across the street from beautiful buildings. We believe this fountain could be the catalyst for a rehab of the entire district and a serious change for a more pedestrian friendly series of trails in the park area . Wouldn't a series of small jazz concerts on the plaza [[doesn't exist yet) just above the fountain be wonderful. We have contacted or are in the process of contacting the parties that would be necessary to help or make it happen. It is doable. The people who know about these things have told us it will cost more than we thought. Actually more than they thought. A lot of the costs are contingent on the status of the basins underneath the marble. They are not even sure there are basins under the marble. The missing section of baluster. Is it missing or being stored somewhere? Etc and so on. They do not seem concerned that we do not have a lot of money. They also seem rather excited about doing this project. Perhaps when it is all said and done it will look like the financing of the Book Caddilac. PCE-I hope you show up but if not we will keep your pseudonym on file for future use. It seems to me a backhoe at least used peripherally on some aspect of the project would be useful. For now hold on to your $50 or send it to Galexc as he's been supplying us with pop for the past couple of weeks.