FIND A CONTRACTOR BUYER'S GUIDE
BECOME AN INDUSTRY PARTNER
MCAA Logo
MEMBER LOGIN JOIN
NEWS
Join Us For The 75th Anniversary Midyear Meeting Sep 7-11 ↗

Restoring a Fountain of Leadership

Words: Dan Kamys/Public/News/20110610060000-1.jpg" width="600" height="338" border="0" alt="With speeds up to 3900 RPM, the 6177-20 allows for fast cutting." />
With speeds up to 3900 RPM, the 6177-20 allows for fast cutting.
The Women’s Leadership Fountain is the oldest working fountain in Kansas City, Mo., located off 9th Street and Paseo Boulevard. The inspiration for the fountain came from George Kessler, a historic landscape architect who, in 1889, approached the City of Kansas City, Mo., Parks and Recreation Board Architect John Van Brunt to design a 9th Street fountain as an entry piece for Paseo Boulevard, which was under construction.

Kessler and Van Brunt decided on a simple, oval design with a limestone basin and nozzles in the center of the basin’s pool, where water shoots up in the air. The fountain was surrounded by a raised sidewalk, floor garden, gas lamps and a balustrade that cost $4,115 to construct.

In the 1940s, the fountain stopped working, but it was repaired in 1970 and, again, in 1990. The renovation in the 1990s was possible through the Central Exchange, which led efforts to raise the $125,000 needed to properly restore the fountain. For the Central Exchange’s efforts, the fountain was renamed the “Women’s Leadership Fountain,” and the names of the 12 women who made the restoration possible were inscribed on it.

Unfortunately, this restoration did not hold. In January 2008, restoration of the fountain began again. The Central Exchange came together with Kansas City Parks and Recreation, Ollie Gates and several other prominent Kansas City residents to raise $1.3 million for a complete renovation that included the foundation, its plumbing, and Meyer and Fitz-Simmons monuments, located nearby. Vannom Construction was hired as the general contractor and quickly brought in Hoffman Cortes Contracting Co. and Susan Richards Johnson & Associates Inc. (architects), to revive the historic fountain.

Challenge

The Women’s Leadership Fountain was a complex project. The team that renovated the fountain in 1970 replaced several damaged pieces with cast stone, and those replacements were deteriorated to a point of no repair. The owner, the Parks and Recreation Department, wanted the fountain restored to the original 107-year-old fountain using Indiana limestone.

Limestone not only is expensive, but also is difficult to find. Not to mention, the decorative elements included in the fountain were difficult to duplicate.

Solution

Chuck Scammell with Hoffman Cortes recalled using Indiana limestone on a previous project and knew exactly what to do. First, he contacted Sturgis Materials to locate a quarry that produced this type of limestone, matching the remaining pieces of the fountain. Next, Hoffman Cortes and Susan Richards Johnson found a fabricator that could produce finny holes — or decorative pieces — almost identical to the original ones.
The project team was creative during the installation, because they wanted the fountain to look as seamless as possible. They demolished select pieces of the fountain, and then incorporated the salvaged pieces back into the fountain. Once this was finished, they replaced the baluster system, and the fountain was once again running.

Results

The Women’s Leadership Fountain was delivered under budget and on time, which resulted in an extremely happy owner. Through creativity and resourcefulness, the oldest working fountain in Kansas City is in working order. In February 2009, a dedication ceremony was held, and the Women’s Leadership Fountain flowed once again.
 0
Chairman's Message: REFLECTIONS SPANNING SEVENTY-FIVE YEARS
September 2025

MCAA has been posting lots of wonderful old photos from decades of records as we celebrate our 75th Anniversary. Many of these photos are black and white and show people at our MCAA events with men wearing suits and ties while the women wore dressy gowns

Dick Dentinger
Chairman’s Message
Read More
Business Building: What Are You Doing To Develop Future Leaders?
September 2025

When I ask my coaching clients if they have anyone in their construction company who could potentially move up from field superintendent to estimator or project manager, the typical answer is “No!” The same answer is usually given when asked if they have

George Hedley
Business Building
Read More
Building More: Smoke Signals or Fire Extinguishers
September 2025

Ever watch a hot-potato game break out on your jobsite? It usually starts small. Somebody spots a crooked door frame, mutters, “I’ll make a note,” and flicks the issue to the next trade like it’s radioactive. By the time that frame comes back around, dryw

Corey Adams
Building More
Read More
MASONRY STRONG Podcast, Episode 27 Recap: Rob McKay, Chief Operating Officer at Instone
September 2025

On this episode of the MASONRY STRONG Podcast, Rob McKay from Instone joins the show to talk about his story as well as the processes and procedures of manufacturing natural stone. Getting Started in Masonry: Rob’s Story Rob entered the masonry field by

Justin Stengel
The MASONRY STRONG Podcast
Read More