Detroit’s Historic Merrill Fountain Now Sits Alone in a Park
It once graced the front of the Detroit Opera House and Wonderland Vaudeville Theater. It had been there ever since it was dedicated on July 16, 1901.
It’s the Merrill Fountain, designed by a couple of the top architects in New York as an “elaborately detailed, white marble structure...designed in the Italian Renaissance style.”
Lizzie Merrill Palmer commissioned this structure in honor of her father, lumber bigwig Charles Merrill. During the dedication ceremony, her husband, Senator Thomas W. Palmer, was allowed to speak in a rambling dissertation about the classic fountains of Europe. Part of his speech was "As men were crowded into great cities and denied the frequent sight of the contact with water in agitation or repose, a craving for it, as a feature of the landscape, has led to construction of artificial lakes, cascades and fountains to cool the air, please the eye and soothe the ear, as well as supply the physical wants of the people." In other words, and easier to understand, “it’s nice to have this fountain”.
Senator Palmer then donated a huge chunk of land that is now Palmer Park. The ornate fountain that was adorning the front of the opera house was moved in 1925 to Palmer Park after Woodward Avenue was widened. But allegedly, that wasn’t the only reason why it was moved.
Detroit newspapers had articles that claimed the fountain had become a nuisance thanks to the "street urchins" that would strip down and dive for coins that passersby tossed in.
Fast-forward 50+ years, and the fountain is still in the park, but neglected and not maintained. The water has turned stagnant and parts have been chipped away and stolen, while vandals have desecrated other parts. Although the fountain was added to the National Register of Historic Places on December 14, 1976, that wasn’t enough for the city to provide upkeep.
There is still hope that the fountain will be renovated – clean enough for any “park urchins” to dive in for coins.
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