September 24, 2016, 4 PM
Marshall Square Park
E. Marshall & N. Franklin Streets, West Chester
Free to All

Be there as we celebrate and rededicate our beautiful fountain. Hear the remarkable story of loss, recovery, and restoration. After 65 years, watch the fountain waters spray and rise again. Make history with us.

Meet our new neighbor and prime benefactor, Pat Loew, as we rename the fountain in honor of her late husband, Jack Loew. Like the fountain, Pat’s spectacular renovation of her new home honors its Victorian heritage.

Meet Officers and Committee members who know how it takes a community to plan, design, and accomplish such a lofty endeavor. Honor those who preserved the fountain for decades, those who helped in its recovery, those who sponsor park benches and buy granite coping stones, those who open their homes for fundraising events, dedicated contractors, and Borough leaders for supporting our efforts, and especially neighbors like you who pay dues and give your time.

Thank you everyone. Enjoy the fountain and help us earn the funds to finish our new Gateway to West Chester.

Fountain Milestones

127 Years Ago — Installed and Dedicated in May 1889
65 Years Ago — Removed and Lost
10 Years Ago — Started Planning and Searching
4 Years Ago — Recovered Major Sections
December 16, 2015 — Restored and Reinstalled
July 27, 2016 — Running Daily for the first time in 60 years
September 24, 2016 — REDEDICATION

See a 4-minute video of the recovery & installation (May 2012 and December 2015)

Friends of Marshall Square Park’s annual Members-Only Fall Party starts after the Rededication.
WATCH FOR THE OFFICIAL INVITATION & TICKET SALES IN AUGUST.

The original Marshall Square Park fountain from 1889. Found in 2012 and restored to its original site on December 16, 2015, where Victorians walked and truly appreciated the fountain’s contribution to their community.

We’re Excited! FMSP Fountain Committee

Tom—from our contractor, Pebble Pools—turned on and tested the Marshall Square Park fountain for the first time. With all seven sprays performing, it’s a glorious sight.

Much more work needs doing, like installing the new fence and restoring the surrounding plaza; but it felt so good to see the sprays rising after over 60 years. And for Friends of Marshall Square Park, a giant step in their ten-year labor of love.

To help us finish the project, donate at marshallsquarepark.org,

PS  The fountain is in “stand-by” mode so the filters work while waiting for the official Fountain Dedication on September 24, 2016, at 4PM. This free event is open to everyone — bring your family and friends, share on Facebook, call your grandparents!

See VIDEO below

Heritage Metalworks of Downingtown arrived with trucks, a van carrying fountain pieces, and three excited men, dedicated to the fountain they restored—in the park they knew as children.

Watch the VIDEO then GO SEE IT IN PERSON!

To finish the fountain project, we need funding. Nonetheless, we plan to welcome Spring 2016 with a working fountain and new drifts of 2,000 daffodils donated by Ben & Pete Rotteveel of DutchGrown LLC, 1-800-277-0215.

Friends of Marshall Square Park has the support of our exceptional Borough community, with all monies coming from residents and without using taxes.

You can make your family a permanent part of this project. Just email [email protected] and ask about fountain donation opportunities. Or, visit marshallsquarepark.org.

Heritage Metalworks of Downingtown’s
Team who restored and installed our fountain.

Ben Woods, Matt White, and Mike Stitley — The fountain restoration team from Heritage Metalworks of Downingtown. These guys have a lot of pride in their work, and it shows throughout the artifact — an historic fountain they feel honored to restore.

Watch the remainder of the MSP fountain leaving yesterday for restoration by Heritage Metalworks of Downingtown.

Since 1889, the fountain’s lowest tier sat in this spot—the other portions lost but recovered in 2012.

In a few months—restored, joined, and re-installed after an absence of over 60 years—you can come see Marshall Square Park’s “new” working fountain!

By Candice Monhollan
cmonhollan@ 21st-centurymedia.com
@CMonhollanDLN on Twitter

Posted: 07/03/15, 4:49 PM EDT

WEST CHESTER >> It has been over 60 years since the five-tiered Victorian fountain stood in Marshall Square Park in West Chester.

But Friends of Marshall Square Park (FMSP), a West Chester community group, is changing that as they move forward in restoring the once big community magnet.

“A lot of people always thought it would be cool to get the fountain back,” said Jeff Beitel, president of FMSP. “It has been missing and not in the park longer than it was installed and running in the park.”

Originally installed in 1889 in the northeast corner of the park, it was once described by the Daily Local News in 1932 as producing “a genuine thrill, a gorgeous effect to be remembered.”

But some time in the 1950s, the fountain was disassembled and the top four tiers were removed, leaving behind just the bottom tier and the basin in the park.

“We have not been able to find any documentation of exactly when the fountain was taken down and we don’t know exactly for what cause,” said Jim Salvas of FMSP.

For some years, no one knew what happened to the tiers until Gene and Joan Gagliardi found them and installed three of the four tiers on their farm.

The top tier, however, was never found.

“(Gene and Joan Gagliardi) brought it back to their farm and restored it there as a working fountain,” Salvas said. “They kept it out there and maintained it for years.”

FMSP recovered the three tiers after the Gagliardis moved and have had them stored away since 2012.

That didn’t mean FMSP forgot about them.

In fact, as of that time, they began to draw up plans to fix up the tiers and remnants of the fountain in the park and restore it to its original beauty and back in its rightful place.

“Some of (the tiers) are a little rough and there is going to be some repairing on it,” Beitel said. “I think when we get it done and all painted up, nobody is going to know the difference.”

FMSP has been raising money, all through fundraisers and donations, without the borough paying a dine, to pay for the restoration.

On June 18, FMSP announced a donation of $45,000 from Pat Loew, widow of the developer and philanthropist Jack Loew, making her the park’s new benefactor.

“One of our members approached (Loew) at a function and told her all about what we were doing and that we were looking for donations,” Beitel said. “She is very honored to be able to help us out with this. It enabled us to get the project really rolling. Before her generous donation, we really didn’t have the money to pull the trigger. That has now allowed us to build on the momentum.”

Being the park’s benefactor will give Loew a plaque to name the fountain in honor of someone; she chose her late husband.

FMSP now has enough to pay for the entire restoration of the fountain and already has all the contracts in place to build a new basin and restore the iron tiers — and create a new top tier designed to look as close to the original as possible.

But they aren’t done fundraising yet.

“We’re trying to create it as a new gateway to West Chester,” Salvas said. “We’re putting in new park benches around there. The whole path down there will be reset.”

When all is said and done and residents drive down East Marshall Street toward the park, they will undoubtedly see the fountain not only during the day, but also at night as FMSP plans to install lights on it.

The hope, and tentative schedule, has the fountain being finished by late September or early October, just before the winter freeze sets in.

“A lot of people don’t realize that Marshall Square Park is the first original park West Chester dedicated and is actually seven years older than New York City’s Central Park,” Beitel said. “The fountain will be an amazing public feature for the park and the town itself. We’re quite proud to do this.”

Contact Candice Monhollan at 610-235-2652.

Friends of Marshall Square Park received $45,000 from a single benefactor.
By Justin Heinze (Patch Staff) June 19, 2015

Holly Brown, former Borough Council President and a member of FMSP’s Fountain Committee, said this gift allows the group to restore and install a working fountain before the end of this year.

The park’s new benefactor is Pat Loew, widow of well-known developer and philanthropist Jack Loew.

Her gift of $45,000 almost matches all funds raised by FMSP in the past few years.

In recognition, FMSP proposes to designate the restored fountain the “Jack Loew Memorial Fountain.”

Installed in 1889 at the northeast corner of the park, the five-tiered Victorian fountain quickly became a hub of community activity. By 1932, the Daily Local News wrote:

“When the tall central stream is turned on, tossing its waters high in the air, and filling the twenty-foot pool with spray… that produces a genuine thrill, a gorgeous effect to be remembered.”

By the 1950s, most of this great fountain was removed, leaving behind its basin and lowest tier. The upper portions were later found and saved from destruction by Gene and Joan Gagliardi, who installed them at their farm in East Bradford. With their help, Friends of Marshall Square Park recovered these sections in 2012, drew up plans for full restoration, and set about raising the needed funds.

The plans shown Thursday night include restoring the iron fountain and basin, installing a new iron fence to match the existing one, and re-laying and expanding the antique brick paving. At the end of the first phase, the fountain will be fully operational with a new pump, modern plumbing and electrical service, plus lighting and security features.

According to FMSP President Jeff Beitel, “Our goal is to create a welcoming space and gateway for our town.”

Anne Walters, FMSP Vice President and Chair of its Fountain Committee, pointed out that though current funds are enough to restore and install a working fountain, it will cost more to complete the “gateway” features. The final goal is $200,000, with almost $130,000 already raised or pledged by FMSP members and donors.

To reach the final goal, FMSP seeks donations of any amount and offers special recognition for major donors. Donor opportunity details are available at marshallsquarepark.org.

The next step is restoring the fountain’s original Masonry Basin, including mechanical connections for the electric pump.

Thanks to our continuing fundraising efforts — Membership dues, Progressive Plates, Music at Marshall, Marshall Park Run/Walk, Fall Garden Parties, and Sponsored Benches — our dream approaches reality.

The generosity of notable donors deserves praise. Everyone’s support brings a New Gateway to West Chester and a beautiful, exciting entrance to Marshall Square park. 1889 is pleased