Historic Pewabic tiles destroyed in Belle Isle fountain restoration

**Lowell** · September-17-10, 03:47 PM

"We had to destroy the city to save it." This famous quote from the Vietnam era crossed my mind.

**buildingsofdetroit** · September-17-10, 03:56 PM

Originally Posted by DetroitPlanner

Way to check your facts freep, her last name was Stratton. Perry was her maiden name.

Check YO facts, DP.

When she founded Pewabic in 1903, she was Mary Chase Perry. She married architect Willaim "Buck" Stratton - who designed the Brodhead Armory and Women's City Club near the Park Bar - nearly two decades later, long after the kilns were firing. While it certainly wouldn't be wrong to call her Mary Chase Stratton, or Mary Chase Perry Stratton, she was still a Perry at the time she founded it.

**Detroitnerd** · September-17-10, 04:03 PM

She started out in the garage [[now long-destroyed) behind a building at 63 Alfred St. in Brush Park.

**n7hn** · September-17-10, 04:08 PM

**JBMcB** · September-17-10, 04:24 PM

Originally Posted by bailey

And again, why can't Pewabic be comissioned to replace the tiles?

I'm sure Pewabic could, and would love to. If it's the tile base for the entire fountain, meaning it would have to be waterproof and durable, I'd imagine the cost would push into the six figure range - probably more. It's a huge job. Since the entire budget is a million, I don't think it was factored in.

**Baselinepunk** · September-17-10, 04:43 PM

"What I cannot understand [[in this case) is for the company to neglect to call Pewabic. Not calling them smacks to me of a hurried demolition. It indicates to me that they didn't want to call in an expert [[and possibly waste time and money) on saving the tiles."

I completely understand the spirit of your post, and I too am pretty goddamn tired of seeing the entire historic integrity of the City of Detroit being destroyed. However, I cannot agree, at this point, that the company doing the work is being neglectful. I'm studying right now at EMU to do this type of work; I can't see this company taking it upon itself to say "fuck it, tear that shit out". What they are doing has been agreed upon by them and the client. If there is any shred of neglect, it would be with the City Parks and Wreck dept, or who ever signed off on this plan; the client.

The contractor involved has a very long line of projects completed. Take a long at their website and you'll see some work done by them on some very familiar structures around this town and the country. As an FYI; I don't work for them, or defending them any further than I don't see this contractor being a bunch of typical fly by night hacks.

Unfortunately, this type of situation is far too common around this area. It's one of the reasons I doing what I'm doing at school. Hopefully, attitudes will change around here some time soon, or else we will loose at more than we have already.

**Gistok** · September-17-10, 04:45 PM

I know that this is off topic... but when they rebuilt the RenCen people mover station... did they destroy the artwork tile wall [[not Pewabic) that was there before? As we all know, it's not in the current RenCen station...

**n7hn** · September-17-10, 04:57 PM

I would be happy to recreate and install the design in mosaic tiles in exchange for a useable vacant home. Im just saying...... I do nice mosaics too, shoot, call me "Ms Perry" while I do it too, someone gave her a chance. Start a new history while honoring the old.....

**wolverine** · September-17-10, 06:45 PM

Originally Posted by LodgeDodger

I completely understand when something is found to be no longer useful. It's a simple concept. What I cannot understand [[in this case) is for the company to neglect to call Pewabic. Not calling them smacks to me of a hurried demolition. It indicates to me that they didn't want to call in an expert [[and possibly waste time and money) on saving the tiles.

I'm just so tired of hearing about shit being bulldozed, thrown away, and mishandled.

As far as Pewabic continuing to manufacture tiles and vessels, yes they do. What many fail to understand is that the older the piece, the greater the value.

Because they were hired and contracted to do a job that didn't involve sorting and stacking tiles. I might work for free and do it, but not everyone will. That doesn't make them bad or irresponsible people.

**Kathleen** · September-17-10, 06:55 PM

At the very least, both Pewabic Pottery and the Detroit HIstorical Museum should have been given the opportunity to salvage some of the tiles for future historical displays. There was some pretty unique Pewabic design in the Scott Fountain.

LodgeDodger · September-17-10, 07:03 PM

Originally Posted by Baselinepunk

"What I cannot understand [[in this case) is for the company to neglect to call Pewabic. Not calling them smacks to me of a hurried demolition. It indicates to me that they didn't want to call in an expert [[and possibly waste time and money) on saving the tiles."

I completely understand the spirit of your post, and I too am pretty goddamn tired of seeing the entire historic integrity of the City of Detroit being destroyed. However, I cannot agree, at this point, that the company doing the work is being neglectful. I'm studying right now at EMU to do this type of work; I can't see this company taking it upon itself to say "fuck it, tear that shit out". What they are doing has been agreed upon by them and the client. If there is any shred of neglect, it would be with the City Parks and Wreck dept, or who ever signed off on this plan; the client.

The contractor involved has a very long line of projects completed. Take a long at their website and you'll see some work done by them on some very familiar structures around this town and the country. As an FYI; I don't work for them, or defending them any further than I don't see this contractor being a bunch of typical fly by night hacks.

Unfortunately, this type of situation is far too common around this area. It's one of the reasons I doing what I'm doing at school. Hopefully, attitudes will change around here some time soon, or else we will loose at more than we have already.

Hey, I think I know who you are...

**kathy2trips** · September-17-10, 10:12 PM

I'm tweeting this, you bet!

**detroitbob** · September-17-10, 10:23 PM

MCS supposedly took the formula for many of her glazes, including the famous "iridescent blue" to the grave. She never wrote them down.

**mauser** · September-18-10, 08:06 AM

Originally Posted by lilpup

Don't know if that affects the fountain or not but from what I understand today's Pewabic doesn't even have all of the rights to Chase Stratton's work. There was in particular a certain glaze she was known for that they don't use today.

There was no iridescent glazes in the fountain tilework. There is a good example of the iridescent glazed tile on the chimneys at UofD Jesuit High.

HERE are some of the tiles in question - before they were butchered:

http://www.detroitfunk.com/?p=4751

**Baselinepunk** · September-18-10, 10:25 AM

"Hey, I think I know who you are..."

Ut Oh! lol.

**Lowell** · September-18-10, 11:28 AM

The more I think about this and read this thread the more disturbing this story gets.

Doesn't the following quote beg a few questions. It doesn't answer who made this dreadful decision.

1-Aren't you [Mr. Sabo] passing the buck onto your workers? Who are they? Art restorationists? Why can they decide that a work of art is too deteriorated to be saved? So they just made up their minds to wipe this out and didn't seek your approval? Or was this sudden complication a delay and a hit to your budget?

2-"The tile was also in a fragile state."? What does that mean? Tile last thousands of years. Have you not seen the Dragon of Marduk from the Ishtar Gate of Babylon at the DIA? It outlasted its city by millennia.

"Tony Sabo, senior vice president of Grunwell-Cashero, the Detroit-based contractor handling the project, said workers found the tile and the concrete bed of the fountain too deteriorated to save during the restoration project.

"The base of the fountain was deteriorated beyond repair, and it had been leaking for years," Sabo said Thursday. "They tried to do some restoration work on it maybe four or five years ago that was unsuccessful. We salvaged what we could salvage. The tile was also in a fragile state."

**Hermod** · September-18-10, 01:47 PM

Originally Posted by wolverine

DetroitYES posters have a habit in not reading and twisting things.

They are also very creative in coming up with ways to spend other people's money.

**kathy2trips** · September-18-10, 01:54 PM

They could have taken the tiles out and sold them as coasters and made a mint! Why does this remind me of the scene in "Raging Bull" where DeNiro smashes his championship belt to get to the gems, only to find out the belt was worth more intact?

**stromberg2** · September-18-10, 04:27 PM

The more I think about, the angrier I get. Fucking Bullshit! Especially after seeing Dfunk's photos.

Stromberg2

**Todd_Scott** · September-18-10, 04:28 PM

Originally Posted by DetroitPlanner

Way to check your facts freep, her last name was Stratton. Perry was her maiden name.

Way to check your facts DetroitPlanner, her last name was Perry in 1903. [[The Free Press article is correct according to the Pewabic Pottery website and Detroit News.)

**mauser** · September-19-10, 12:29 AM

Originally Posted by Detroitnerd

She started out in the garage [[now long-destroyed) behind a building at 63 Alfred St. in Brush Park.

http://www.63alfred.com/

Ransom Gillis carriage house.

**mauser** · September-19-10, 12:36 AM

Mary Chase Perry met William Buck Stratton while making the Society of Arts and Crafts building on Watson Street in Bush Park. This building was hastily demolished during Superbowl at the demand of the City.

William Buck Stratton:
http://www.aaa.si.edu/images/centcre...crea_12009.jpg

The School of the Society of Arts and Crafts was the early incarnation of Center for Creative Studies College of Art and Design, now College for Creative Studies.

**mauser** · September-19-10, 12:44 AM

Here is the new Scott Fountain Skateboard Park - and its totally RAD dudes !

http://www.detroitfunk.com/?p=4756

I hope and pray that these asshats are never called on to repair a leak in the plaster ceiling of the Sistine Chapel....."Im sorry, it was just too expensive to save the paintings, so....we jackhammered them out and threw them away....."

Yeah right - WERE ARE THE TILES ?

They did not put them in any landfill. I call BS on that one.

OTHER PEOPLES MONEY ? This is a public monument, it is public commons. They had no right to do it wrong. And that contractor does not own the tiles that were taken from the fountain. They need to be returned.