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Bagley Memorial Fountain
National Register
Historic Photo from NRHP Filing
National Register of Historic Places Filing
State SignificanceArchitecture19th Century
John Judson Bagley was governor of Michigan from 1873 to 1877. All of his life was active in education, business, and politics. He died in 1881 and in his will provided several thousand dollars for the construction of the Bagley Memorial Fountain. The will stated that the fountain would quench the thirst of Detroiters with 'water cold and pure as the coldest mountain stream.' However, the actual cost of the fountain was nearly twice that provided for by the bequest. The architect chosen to design the fountain was Henry Hobson Richardson, renowned for his Byzantine-Romanesque style. Richardson was born on a plantation in Louisiana on September 29, 1838. He studied at Harvard and the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris. He returned to the United States after the Civil War and settled in New York. Richardson believed that one should forget traditional architecture and create anew. He began chiefly as an ecclesiastical architect, winning fame with Trinity Church, Boston. He then turned to houses, libraries, and public and commercial buildings. The list of Richardson's works is too long to state, but it includes structures in Boston, Pittsburgh, Chicago, Detroit, and Cincinnati. Richardson set an architectural fashion that dominated the eastern states from 1880 to the Chicago World's Fair. He died April 27, 1886. The Bagley Memorial Fountain was unveiled May 30, 1887, in its original location in a space south of the city hall. In September, 1925, the Common Council of Detroit authorized the Bagley Fountain to be moved to its present site. This unique fountain, designed by an internationally renowned architect and given to the citizens of Detroit by a former governor of Michigan, has been providing Detroiters with respite from thirst for nearly eighty-four years.
Physical Description
The John J. Bagley Memorial Fountain stands in an area south of Campus Martius where Woodward Avenue widens to join Michigan Avenue and Monroe. It is eighteen feet high and is constructed entirely of white Worcester. It is an adaptation of a small ciborium in St. Mark's Cathedral, Venice. In contrast to the smooth pyramidal canopy, the arch spandrels and the column capitals are highly embellished with crisp foliate carvings. In the center of the fountain are four lion heads through which water was once discharged. To cool the water, thousands of pounds of ice were deposited in the base cover coils of pipe through which the water passed. Two of the heads expelled water of normal temperature and the other two expelled cold water. The fountain was to be in use from April through November. There is now a water fountain spout. There are four steps surrounding the base. At each corner of the base of the steps is an urn about three feet in height. The circumference around the base of the steps is approximately eighteen feet. The fountain was moved from its original location to its present site in 1925.
Architect/Builder
Henry Hobson Richardson
NRHP Ref# 71000422 • Data from National Park Service • Content available under CC BY-SA 4.0
Historical Photos
(1)Public Domain (Michigan Filing)
From Wikipedia
The Bagley Memorial Fountain is a historic fountain in Downtown Detroit, Michigan. It has recently been moved from its long-time location in Campus Martius Park to a new location just down the street in Cadillac Square Park. The fountain was listed on the National Register of Historic Places and designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1971. The John N. Bagley House (1889) at 2921 East Jefferson Avenue in Detroit was constructed for Governor Bagley's son, and is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places.Lion detail on fountain Woodward Avenue c. 1891 showing Bagley Fountain (far left) John J. Bagley was the 16th governor of Michigan, serving from 1873 to 1877. Bagley also served as a Detroit Alderman from 1860 to 1861 and as Police Commissioner from 1865 to 1872. He was instrumental in the creation of the Detroit Metropolitan Police Commission and the construction of the first Detroit House of Corrections. When Bagley died in 1881, his will contained $5,000 for the construction of a drinking fountain for the people of Detroit, having "water cold and pure as the coldest mountain stream."In 1885, the Bagley family chose Henry Hobson Richardson to design the fountain. In 1887, the Bagley Memorial Fountain was dedicated at the corner of Woodward Avenue and Fort Street. Richardson constructed the fountain entirely out of pink Bragville granite, modeled after a ciborium located in St. Mark's Basilica in Venice. The Bagley Memorial Fountain stands 21 feet high with a basin 7 feet across. At the center of the fountain, four lion heads distribute water. In the original design, two of the heads produced "normal" temperature water and the other two produced cold water, chilled by ice packed around the fountain pipes. The inscription on the four sides of the cornice reads: TESTAMENTARY GIFT | FOR THE PEOPLE FROM | JOHN JVDSON BAGLEY | A.D. MDCCCLXXXVII.In 1926 the fountain was moved from its original home at Woodward and Fort to Campus Martius, because of the increase of automobile traffic. In 2000, the fountain was removed from its site, disassembled, and put into storage. In 2007, the fountain was installed in its current location in Cadillac Square; a new lion fountainhead replaced the original, which was stolen. It is the only remaining work by Richardson in the Detroit area.• Drinking fountains in the United StatesWikimedia Commons has media related to Bagley Memorial Fountain.Skyscrapers and complexes • 150 West Jefferson• Ally Detroit Center• Book Tower• Broderick Tower• Buhl Building• Cadillac Place• Cadillac Square Building (demolished)• Cadillac Tower• Chrysler House• David Whitney Building• Detroit Life Building• Executive Plaza Building• Federal Reserve Building• First National Building• Fisher Building• Ford Building• Fort Pontchartrain Hotel• Francis Palms Building• Guardian Building• Hudson's Detroit• Industrial Building• Lafayette Building (demolished)• Michigan Central Station• Millender Center• One Campus Martius• One Griswold Street• One Kennedy Square• One Woodward Avenue• Penobscot Building• Renaissance Center• Riverfront Condominiums Detroit• David Stott Building• Westin Book Cadillac Hotel• Meridian Health Plan Headquarters (proposed)• Detroit Statler Hotel (demolished)• Water Board Building• Wurlitzer Building, a former Wurlitzer office buildingParks • Belle Isle• Campus Martius Park• Water Works Park (closed)Public art • Bagley Memorial Fountain• Scott Fountain• Russell Alger Memorial Fountain• General Alexander Macomb• Michigan Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument• The Spirit of Detroit• Stevens T. Mason• General Thaddeus KosciuszkoOther landmarks • Comerica Park• Detroit Athletic Club• Detroit Building• Detroit City Hall (demolished)• Detroit Opera House• Detroit Public Safety Headquarters• Detroit Club (club defunct, but building still exists)• Elwood Bar• Farwell Building• The Fillmore Detroit• Ford Auditorium (demolished)• Ford Field• Fort Shelby Hotel• Fort Street Presbyterian Church• Fox Theatre• Frank Murphy Hall of Justice• Gem Theatre• Griswold Building Senior Apartments• Hollywood Casino• Huntington Place• Joe Louis Arena (demolished)• Kennedy Fountain, a/k/a Kennedy Square (demolished)• MGM Grand Detroit• Park Avenue House• Town Apartments• Veterans' Memorial Building• Wayne County Building• William Livingstone Memorial Light, only marble lighthouse in the United States, located on Belle Isle• Women's City Club• Coleman A. Young Municipal Center• University Club (demolished)• Yondotega ClubDetroit People Mover stations • Broadway• Bricktown• Cadillac Center• Financial District• Fort/Cass• Grand Circus Park• Greektown• Huntington Place• Michigan Avenue• Millender Center• Renaissance Center• Times Square• Water SquareThis list is incomplete. The Michigan State University College of Law was in Downtown Detroit prior to 1997 and was known as the "Detroit College of Law."
Content available under CC BY-SA 4.0
Building Details
- Architect
- Henry H. Richardson
- Year Built
- 1887
- Building Type
- Fountain
- National Register
- Listed
- Ref# 71000422
