The Eagle Fountains: Where Have They Been?

This entry is about eagle fountains, yes. It’s also about the restoration of art objects and even of buildings.

Frederick Cleveland Hibbard created two fountains that, when in place, face each other on either side of East Congress Parkway at Michigan Avenue. Depictions of eagles that have successfully fished, they were placed as part of landscape improvements for the 1933 Century of Progress, Chicago’s second World’s Fair.

The Chicago Park District tells us, “Flanking the north and south sides of Congress Plaza are twin fountains with circular pools. In the center of each, a bronze eagle with a fish in its talons appears as though it is about to take flight. Although the eagles look very realistic, their verticality and stylized angular lines relate to the Art Deco style that characterized much of the architecture and sculpture at the fair.”

About Hibbard, Chicago Park District says, “Born and raised in Canton, Missouri, Frederick Cleveland Hibbard (1881–1950) studied electrical engineering at several universities in Missouri and at the Armour Institute of Technology in Chicago (later renamed the Illinois Institute of Technology). While working in Chicago as an electrician, Hibbard decided that he wanted to become a sculptor. He enrolled at the School of the Art Institute and went on to have a successful career producing over seventy works of permanent sculpture, including two monuments to the Confederate president Jefferson Davis. His work in the Chicago parks includes bas-relief panels on the facade of the Calumet Park field house, the David Wallach Fountain in Burnham Park, the Greene Vardiman Black Memorial in Lincoln Park and the Garden Figure in the Lincoln Park Conservatory.” (1) (2)

In 2016 the eagles disappeared from Grant Park. They were removed for restoration, a process which has proven more complex than originally thought. They have not yet returned. They will return, fully rejuvenated, their new old selves. Their story is a bit like that of our own aging process, with the difference that they can be made like new.

In 2015 we at Public Art Chicago were following up on a project we had taken on. An organization had asked us to document the public art on the “Cultural Mile” and to place the mile’s objects on our then-working mobile app. We completed a lot of the research, though we were unable to add them. Our app had, by that time, ceased being downloadable. It still functioned, for those who already had it, but the idea of the project was to push it out to new users, the Cultural Mile’s audience.

The Eagle Fountains were among the objects we had documented. I was downtown one day in 2016 and noticed that they were no longer in place. So I asked my friends at the Park District what had happened and was told, without detail, that they were being restored and would be put back in 2018.

Come 2019 and the eagles were still missing. I queried the Park District again. This time Michael Fus, a Park District restoration architect, gave me substantial detail and it’s a lesson in what restoration is about. Here’s what he said.

“I am working to get this project under construction this summer. Although completion is looking more likely for 2020 rather than 2019, the longer schedule can be attributed to one major discovery with the basin lining. The glazed tile lining [I] previously mentioned [in prior correspondence] was thought to be traditional flat ceramic tile with an approximate thickness of ¾”, based upon the only archival drawing I could find for the fountains. However, preliminary investigation revealed that this lining is actually terra cotta blocks with much larger dimensions (depths) of 4” or more. If you look closely at the complex patterns and shapes of each fountain lining and consider that each basin has approximately 368 terra cotta units in a dozen different shapes, this discovery makes a huge impact. The restoration scope of the basin lining was completely altered, as terra cotta restoration is much more complex than flat tile. In lieu of completely replacing the basin linings, the scope is evolving into a combination of reproduction pieces and repaired pieces (in situ) to minimize disruption and salvage as much original material as possible.

Completion will depend upon which of two terra cotta manufacturers under current consideration is selected to make the reproduction terra cotta units. Local and east coast manufacturers were also consulted, but have been eliminated from consideration. Terra cotta typically has minimum lead times of three months or more. One potential manufacturer is located in northern California and the other is in England. The English company offers a substantial price discount over the California company, but there may be a much longer lead time due to the added distance and their workload. I should have a better idea of schedule in another month.
Additional scope includes partial disassembly of the cast concrete coping and exterior shells. Various and differing concrete pieces have deteriorated at each fountain significantly enough to warrant replacement, so the plan is to unify all salvageable concrete pieces at one fountain and concentrate reproduction pieces at the other. Precise analysis of the aggregate will be performed for an exacting match.

A plaster model of one of the two types of fish has been recreated from archival photos – please see the attached archival image of the original models for both fish and an image of the new plaster model of one of the fish.” (3)

Michael Fus was fortunate to work extensively with Kathleen Louis Hemard, Frederick Cleveland Hibbard’s granddaughter. As he told me, they corresponded “about Hibbard’s sculptures in Chicago, and I am grateful I was able to share updates with her on the restoration of Wallach Fountain a couple years ago, an assessment of Greene Vardiman Black, and the upcoming work at Eagle Fountains. Kat was so generous with her fantastic records and she always provided fascinating links to related topics.” Sadly, Ms. Hemard, a very important link to Hibbard and his work, died last October.

Restoration of any art object or of a building is never simple. In fact, until the work begins one can never be sure what to expect, as this restoration shows. I was privy to some of the details of the restoration at Frank Lloyd Wright’s Unity Temple in Oak Park, IL, completed in 1909. The beforehand analysis showed the scope of the project would be extensive. Once work started the vagaries of early 20th century reinforced concrete construction really began to become apparent. So did the wear and tear of over 100 years of use and of Chicagoland weather. While the Unitarian congregation that worships at the Temple expected to be back in the building in 18 months, they had to wait for 2 years to return.

Thus, it’s no surprise that 80+-year-old metal fountain sculptures and their mechanical parts were in poorer repair than the Park District thought they were. The good news is that the restorer is taking great care in the work and not hurrying it along. We look forward to the renewed eagles and their placement back where they belong.

NOTES

(1) https://www.chicagoparkdistrict.com/parks-facilities/eagle-fountains
(2) For discussion of the Greene Vardiman Black monument, see my blog entry at https://www.edmcdevitt.org/the-dentist-in-the-park/
(3) Personal email from Michael Fus, Chicago Park District.

© Edmund J. McDevitt
April, 2019