Natural Stone is the Clear Leader in "The Women's Leadership Fountain" Restoration

The Women’s Leadership Fountain is the oldest working fountain in Kansas City, Mo., located off 9th Street and Paseo Boulevard. The inspiration for the fountain came from George Kessler, a historic landscape architect who, in 1889, approached the City of Kansas City, Mo., Parks and Recreation Board Architect John Van Brunt to design a 9th Street fountain as an entry piece for Paseo Boulevard, which was under construction.

Kessler and Van Brunt decided on a simple, oval design with a limestone basin and nozzles in the center of the basin’s pool, where water shoots up in the air. The fountain was surrounded by a raised sidewalk, floor garden, gas lamps and a balustrade that cost $4,115 to construct.

Fountains were a part of Kansas City’s urban planning from the very early days of the city.  Originally known as the 9th Street Fountain, this outdoor fountain was in the planning stages at the time when the first city-built fountain was dedicated at 15th and Paseo in 1899.  The 9th Street Fountain was dedicated later in the same year.  In the following years, scores of fountains would be constructed throughout the city.  The 15th Street Fountain was destroyed in 1941, making the 9th Street Fountain the oldest. 

In the 1940s, the fountain stopped working, but it was repaired in 1970 and, again, in 1990. The renovation in the 1990s was possible through the Central Exchange, which led efforts to raise the $125,000 needed to properly restore the fountain. For the Central Exchange’s efforts, the fountain was renamed the “Women’s Leadership Fountain,” and the names of the 12 women who made the restoration possible were inscribed on it.

Unfortunately, this restoration did not hold. In January 2008, restoration of the fountain began again. The Central Exchange came together with Kansas City Parks and Recreation, Ollie Gates and several other prominent Kansas City residents to raise $1.3 million for a complete renovation that included the foundation, its plumbing, and Meyer and Fitzsimons monuments, located nearby. Vanum Construction was hired as the general contractor and quickly brought in Hoffman Cortes Masonry Division and Susan Richards Johnson & Associates Inc. (architects), to revive the historic fountain.

The Women’s Leadership Fountain was a complex project. The team that renovated the fountain in 1970 replaced several damaged pieces with cast stone, and those replacements were deteriorated to a point of no repair. The owner, the Parks and Recreation Department, wanted the fountain restored to the original 107-year-old fountain using Indiana limestone.

Chuck Scammell with Hoffman Cortes recalled using Indiana limestone on a previous project and knew exactly what to do. First, he contacted Sturgis Materials to locate a quarry that produced this type of limestone, matching the remaining pieces of the fountain. Next, Hoffman Cortes and Susan Richards Johnson found a fabricator that could produce finials – or decorative pieces – almost identical to the original ones.

The project team was creative during the installation, because they wanted the fountain to look as seamless as possible. They demolished select pieces of the fountain, and then incorporated the salvaged pieces back into the fountain. Once this was finished, they replaced the baluster system, and the fountain was once again running.

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Sturgis Rock Solid Solutions has the Kansas City’s largest selection of natural stone PLUS the knowledge and resources to make any size project successful.  Whether it’s a backyard project or a large commercial facility, you can count on Sturgis Rock Solid Solutions to provide the best materials, convenient and efficient delivery, and personal commitment to your success.  It’s more than our name, it’s what we do:  Sturgis Rock Solid Solutions.