Across from the rowhouse where writer H.L. Mencken once lived, a fountain in the middle of Union Square memorializes "The Sage of Baltimore."
But it's in disrepair. The water has not flowed for years. Some of the cherub-like figures cavorting about the fountain's top are missing limbs. And of the 33 bronzed depictions of Mencken books dedicated to fountain donors that once dotted the granite seating circle, three are missing and several more are damaged.
In early May, the Union Square Association voted to replace the fountain as part of a revitalization project. Members ordered a new fountain for $9,000. "Our interest is in putting something in the square that's going to look good and last, and that is appropriate for the time," said Bill Adler, the association's at-large director.
But for two sisters who remember the fountain's unveiling in 1971, the decision is appalling.
Community newcomers, they say, don't remember how important the fountain was and didn't even consider restoring it.
"I don't think the vote by the association members was an informed vote," said JoeAnne Whitely, 63, who made the fountain her pet project when she and her husband ran the organization. "It is beyond me to understand what is going on."
Now the replacement project is stalled.
The Union Square Association, it turns out, ordered a new fountain before receiving approval from the city, which owns the square. Nor did the group receive clearance from the city's Commission for Historical and Architectural Preservation or the Maryland Historical Trust, which must approve changes to the square.
The new fountain sits in Adler's garage, awaiting the outcome of a squabble over a tribute to Mencken, a renowned cynic who probably wouldn't have approved of such a tribute in the first place.
"If, after I depart this vale, you ever remember me and have thought to please my ghost, forgive some sinner and wink your eye at some homely girl," he wrote in 1921.
Mencken was then living in the Hollins Street rowhouse facing Union Square, where he had grown up and would continue to live for most of his life. In his 1940 autobiography Happy Days, Mencken remembered the square fondly. At the time, a Victorian fountain graced the center; it was melted down for munitions during World War II.
When Whitely and her husband, who now live in Virginia, formed the Union Square Association in 1967 to restore the square to its Mencken-era glory, reproducing that fountain became the most important piece of their plan. Working from old photos of the original fountain, the association had a near-replica installed on Mencken's birthday celebration in 1971.
The fountain, which cost $4,500 (about $22,500 in today's dollars), was presented with much fanfare. Prominent people and organizations paid $100 each for whichever of the 33 books they wanted to sponsor, and the rest of the money came from fundraising events.
The association couldn't afford to have the fountain completely cast in iron, so the decorative cranes were made of fiberglass and attached with resin in a method innovative enough to win the fountain a national award from a metalworking society, Whitely said.
All that for a man who thought such endeavors absurd. "One suspects that the sage himself would have had a good laugh over his beer at such a project," The Sun wrote less than two weeks before the fountain was unveiled.
The fountain did not spout water until 1976, when the fiberglass figures atop the bowl were attached. Two of those figures were stolen in 1985 and recovered days later by undercover police who went from door to door questioning residents.
Since then, the fountain has deteriorated as time and vandalism took their toll. Letters are missing from the titles and donor names atop the Mencken books. The stem holding the fountain's iron bowl is tilted, and the fiberglass cranes that ring the bottom are eroding.
The Union Square Association had been discussing a new fountain for years but got serious nine months ago, said its president, Christopher Taylor. More than 20 members voted in favor of a new fountain in May while only two - including Whitely's sister, Ardebella Fox - dissented, he said.
The replacement was commissioned by Robinson Iron, an Alabama-based foundry. Eight feet of cast iron wrought in a classic Victorian style, it has a base almost exactly like the one now in the square and three layers of bowls similar to those the fountain has now. There are no figures atop the replacement, which cannot be sent back, said Luke Robinson, the foundry's sales manager.
Those figures are the focal point of a dispute over the fountain's historical accuracy. Whitely, whose son was the model for the figures, maintains that she has seen photos proving similar sculptures topped the original fountain. Supporters of the new fountain say that has never been proved.
The new fountain would also last longer, its advocates say.
"It's the jewel of the neighborhood," Taylor said. "We could try to pay to repair it, which may be a lost cause, or get a new one."
Francis Rahl, the association's historical preservation director and CHAP liaison, said he has mixed feelings about the new fountain, but he is pushing for it based on community sentiment.
"There are people who are starting to spend pretty good money to move out there in that neighborhood, and people want it to be nice," Rahl said. "They don't have a lot of association with the old fountain."
Rahl said the association plans on keeping all 33 books and restoring the damaged ones around the new fountain.
The association has contacted the city about its plans but has yet to put together an official presentation, said Department of Recreation and Parks Director Connie A. Brown. "We're fine with them doing that, as long as they follow the process," he said.
The association has sent plans to the Maryland Historical Trust, and a review board met Tuesday to discuss the matter, said Beth Schminke, a trust administrator. The director will issue a public decision in coming weeks, she said.
When Whitely told some of the fountain's donors about the association's plans, they demanded a hearing before CHAP.
"It should not be done in an underhand fashion but in a transparent way," said Julian L. Lapides, a former state senator and one-time president of the nonprofit preservation group Baltimore Heritage.
Romaine Somerville, who directed CHAP when the current fountain was installed, said changes to public property were always given a hearing. "I think the city and interested people should know what they're considering," said Somerville, whose husband, Frank, was a longtime Sun reporter and editor.
CHAP's current executive director, Kathleen Kotarba, said the new fountain could be approved without a hearing. She said she asked Whitely and Rahl to reach an agreement before submitting the plans to the commission.
One thing both sides agree on: The current fountain should be preserved, even if it is no longer on display in the square. Fox has offered to buy it, a suggestion Rahl said he would approve if the city agreed.
Fox said she would rather see the fountain restored.
"I become emotional about it, you know, and I just hate to see something happen to it, and I think that maybe if I buy it, one day it would be put back to its rightful place," she said. "They have not even attempted to have this fountain restored. You know, they just take the liberty to replace it. It's irreplaceable."
Whitely said she didn't know whether the two sides can reconcile.
"I don't know what Mencken would have thought about all this," she said.
alia.malik@baltsun.com