Roper: The community steps up to save Loring Park’s dandelion fountain

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The Berger Fountain in Loring Park was one of the most striking water features in the Twin Cities, until it went dry roughly five years ago.

It is often called the “dandelion fountain” because of how water sprayed from an array of rods, giving it the appearance of a giant fluid ball. Surrounded by cascading pools, the fountain cooled and soothed parkgoers for nearly half a century.

But water was leaking from the pools and underground pipes. So the Park Board had to turn it off.

These days, without its rods and water, it looks more like the Loring Park lollipop statue.

The good news is that neighbors have stepped up to revive it. They’re trying to raise $2.6 million to repair the fountain and build a formal plaza around it. Now in its second year, the campaign is about halfway toward the goal.

I’m glad to hear there is a community effort to bring the dandelion back. Fountains can be costly to maintain, but there’s something intangible about the value they provide in an urban environment.

“You have to have places that are peaceful, that keep people whole, or people would just get so gloomy and down,” said Jana Metge, coordinator of Citizens for a Loring Park Community, the local neighborhood group. “This is like a healing feature for the whole city, I think.”

There are a number of prominent fountains around town, such as those at Lyndale Park Gardens, Como Park and Rice Park. But the Berger Fountain and the (recently restored) Peavey Plaza fountains belong in their own category. These things gush water in a way that dominates the space and really captures your attention. You can literally feel it in the air.

The Berger Fountain fundraising campaign is being co-sponsored by Friends of Loring Park and Citizens for a Loring Park Community. It illustrates how communities sometimes need to take things into their own hands if they want to save something — even if that thing is owned by the government.

The Park Board included fountain repairs in its long-term plan for the park, but that isn’t slated to receive funding (about $1.8 million) until 2028. Neighbors didn’t want the fountain to stay dry for that long, and would like to see that money go toward other park improvements.

The fundraiser will pay for a complete overhaul of the large underground vault that powers the fountain, as well as ornamental changes like replacing all the tiles that line its cascading pools.

The money would also create a plaza around the fountain.

The fountain is currently surrounded by a small ring of concrete and grass — with the exception of some narrow asphalt entry points. “The fountain has kind of been stuck in this little oasis by itself without really good accessibility, especially to people who have mobility challenges,” said Mary Bujold, who chairs the fountain task force.

The new, triangular plaza will create a seamless hardscape connection with nearby Willow Street. The fountain emerges in the plaza renderings as much more of a showcase attraction than it once was. (Renderings are essentially marketing products, though, so the proof is in the execution.)

Public dollars are helping the effort. The project has garnered $400,000 in Park Board maintenance funds and $200,000 in state Legacy dollars. It also received $300,000 from park dedication fees, which are paid by developers on new construction.

Those looking to give can do so at loringpark.org/berger-fountain.

In addition to individual donations — like those received during a May event at the nearby Woman’s Club — organizers plan to start seeking help from corporations and family foundations. Bujold hopes they can raise the remaining money by next spring, so the fountain can be reactivated in 2027.

I was surprised to learn in a 2006 column by Nick Coleman that the Berger Fountain was once somewhat controversial. “Scrappy dealmaker” Ben Berger, a 70s-era park commissioner, paid $175,000 for it and donated it to the city. It is actually a replica of Sydney’s El Alamein Fountain.

The Park Board’s original plan was to put it where the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden stands today, but some weren’t happy about it. The director of the Walker Art Center derided it as “sort of mass produced.”

Half a century later, the Berger Fountain has become an enduring landmark in the city. And it’s one worth preserving.