Popular Liberty Park fountain can be reopened for much less than $2M quoted by Salt Lake City, artist’s son says
Authored by Matthew Piper
Source: Salt Lake Tribune
Plans to remodel the Seven Canyons Fountain in Liberty Park received backlash. This article explains a proposal to renovate the fountain for less.
A popular Liberty Park fountain that closed this summer due to health concerns can be brought up to code and reopened for far less than the $2 million quoted by Salt Lake City staff, according to the son of the Seven Canyons Fountain artist Stephen Goldsmith.
After months digging through documents and talking to interested parties, Sam Goldsmith presented his conclusions at Wednesday night’s Liberty Wells Community Council meeting to loud applause from area residents and the surprise of Parks and Public Lands Director Kristin Riker.
“A solution exists to preserve and restore the fountain,” said Goldsmith, among the thousands who once splashed and climbed around the 30,000-square-foot feature while learning — if they so chose — about the seven canyons and creeks that feed the Jordan River and the Great Salt Lake. “It doesn’t have to be demolished and redone. It would be a real tragedy.”
The fountain opened in May 1993 with the partial financial backing of philanthropist and fountain enthusiast Obert Clark Tanner, at a total cost of $500,000. Goldsmith said it can be brought up to code for $200,000 to $300,000, rather than the $2 million overhaul proposed by the lone contractor Riker had sought guidance from.
