To celebrate the culmination of the downtown rebuilding campaign after the fire of 1916, Wees was commissioned by Paris businessman and philanthropist J. J. Culbertson to design a memorial fountain in the center of the plaza. The fountain is a two-tiered circular composition of white Italian marble set within an octagonal basin resting upon a raised plinth. Flights of steps on four sides are framed by freestanding pillars of limestone carrying bronze vessels with light orbs. Detailing on the fountain recalls Wees’ Art Nouveau–inspired floral ornamentation on the house (MC42) he designed for Rufus Scott in 1910.
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Culbertson Fountain
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