Photo creditA: Baltimore Sun/Gene Sweeney
The fountain that is the centerpiece of the restoration of the Eutaw Place median gardens isn't the original.
That fountain was known as The Children's Fountain or the Centennial Fountain because it was purchased from the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition in 1876 for "much less" than the $9,000 cost of constructing it.
That fountain collapsed under the weight of ice and snow in the winter of 1945 and its pieces, along with the benches that surrounded it, were carted away. The removal of the benches was called "an indecency" by neighbors.
The fountain that was installed in the median had originally stood on the grounds of a nursing facility in downtown Baltimore. When the facility was relocated to Baltimore County (to make way for the beginnings of the University of Maryland Medical School complex), the fountain was moved with it. Years later, it was again moved, this time to storage to accommodate expansion of the nursing facility.
Meredith Millspaugh, a well-know civic activist, was a member of the Board of Directors at the nursing facility. She felt that the fountain should be returned to its "roots" in the city. When she read an article in the Baltimore Sun about the restoration of the Gunther Fountain in the 1400 block of Eutaw Place, she contacted the person from Bolton Hill that was mentioned in the article.
Though no funds were available to begin restoration, the fountain was brought to storage in the former 'Oderite Building' on Mt. Royal Avenue. When that building was demolished, it was moved to Baltimore Mid-Town Community Benefits offices, where it was chained to a metal railing in a parking lot.
Members of the Garden Club working on the median renovation project heard about the fountain and requested that it be donated to the project. Baltimore Mid-Town Community Benefits agreed to do so if the club could raise the funds necessary to have it restored, installed and maintained.
An agreement was made; the fountain was restored and moved to a Garden Club member's garage where it awaited installation.
Note: a non-historical aspect was added to the fountain installation. Because the center median lacked an electricity source, the fountain and landscape lighting are powered by solar components.