HomeMy WebLinkAbout7-Haller FountainTitle: Haller Fountain or Galatea
Artist: Unknown
Date: September 1893
Location: Washington and Taylor
Media: Bronze Casting
Dimensions: 7' high x 3.5' diameter at base
This fountain is often thought to portray Venus, the Roman goddess of love, or Galatea,
a sea nymph from Greek mythology. In 1893 the statue first appeared at the World
Columbian Exposition in Chicago's German Pavilion and was shortly sold to J.L. Mott
Foundry of New York, a company specializing in plumbing fixtures. The statue that
stands today is a bronze casting of a pot metal original donated by Theodore N. Haller
and installed by the City of Port Townsend in 1906.
Following its placement at the bottom of the Taylor Street Stairs, a local bar owner by
the name of Charlie Lang reputedly placed and trained trout in the pool to jump through
hoops. Later on a vehicle, which had driven down the stairs, collided with the statue and
sent it into the street. Several paintings over the years obscured some of the finer
details. Vandals also damaged the original although most of the missing pieces
eventually returned when word got out they were needed for recasting. In 1958 the
statue was removed for repairs, totaling 18 months of work. During the repair process,
Dr. Kennith Carter of Port Townsend came to the conclusion that the figure lacked
shape and slightly modified her cup size.
Haller Fountain restoration became a unifying cause for Port Townsend residents in
1992 after well-intentioned children naively climbed on the statue, breaking a limb off
and damaging the cherubs in 1990. Removing the statue for further repairs, the Kiwanis
Club discovered the original version much too deteriorated for prolonged use. They
began a fundraising campaign that involved door-to-door campaigning and change jars
in grocery stores in order to mold a new bronze replica.
Mark Stevenson and David Eisenhower were commissioned to reconstruct the statue
from the assorted parts and dilapidated original. The new bronze statue, installed in
1993, stands to this day. The Central Fountain of St. James Court in Old Louisville,
Kentucky and Venus Rising from the Sea at Kimberly Crest Gardens in Redlands,
California are nearly identical statues to Galatea.