Fountain's statue getting makeover
By Ethan Smith
Published in News on March 12, 2015 1:46 PM
A popular fixture in Herman Park is gone -- at least temporarily.
The Lady in the Park statue has been removed from its pedestal after a brutal winter caused the statue to freeze and tilt off its center axis, creating the potential for severe damage.
"It started icing over in January when it was really cold," said Felicia Brown, city Parks and Recreation Department recreation superintendent. "While the sprayers in the fountain were going, ice started to form on it. We spoke with employees that had been here a while and they all said it would be OK. We couldn't turn off the sprayers because then the plumbing would freeze, but we were worried about the statue, too."
Eventually the ice became too much for the statue to handle, causing the metal support rod in the very center of the statue to weaken and to bend, resulting in a tilting of the statue.
The plumbing and piping in the fountain were old, Mrs. Brown said, and the Parks and Recreation Department was hesitant to shut off the plumbing because of the temperatures.
But with the repairs currently taking place on the statue and fixture, that will no longer be a worry in the future.
"The plumbing is all new now, so we can shut it off in seriously low temperatures in the future without worrying about it freezing," Parks Superintendent John Albert said.
The total cost of repairs to the statue come to $2,200. The work is being done by a blacksmith and machinist shop in Wilson.
Albert said the structure of the statue is being reinforced with stainless steel so it will be able to withstand more weight in the future.
"It's really as much of an upgrade as it is a repair," Albert said.
Stainless steel bracings and new plumbing fixtures are being placed inside the statue, Albert said, as there were thin spots in the statue that caused its structural integrity to fail.
"Essentially, the metal pole running up the statue was too thin to support the weight of the ice," Mrs. Brown said. "There are three parts to her. There's the pedestal, the bowl and then the lady herself. The metal pole ran between the pedestal and the bowl, and was just too thin to withstand the ice and the ice started to cause her to lean over."
Before the statue was removed, the Parks and Recreation Department tried placing external braces on the statue to keep it from tilting, and closed the park gates leading into the roundabout so if the statue fell, it would not hurt any passersby.
Mrs. Brown said the statue should be back in place by the end of next week.