Summer Heat Got You Thirsty? Grab a Drink at the Pullen Fountain

Public Art Committee to lead a brief discussion on historic fountain honoring animal rights pioneer during September’s First Friday Art Walk

Portland, Maine - Next month as a part of First Friday Art Walk, the Portland Public Art Committee (PPAC) will hold its fifth talk in the Art in Our Front Yard: Portland’s Public Art Collection series with a discussion of the Pullen Fountain located on Federal Street opposite the Federal Courthouse (photos attached). PPAC member Tony Muench will lead a discussion of the artwork, its history and significance within the city’s collection. Muench led the renovation and redesign effort for the fountain, which was completed two years ago. The public is encouraged to join the PPAC Friday September 7th and learn about the art in their front yard and share in a discussion of the unique place public art holds in our community.

The Stanley Pullen Fountain was installed in 1910 as a horse trough and fountain on what was then the busy thoroughfare of Federal Street. The fountain was designed by George Burnham (1843-1903) of Portland and executed by the New Hampshire Granite Company. Named in honor of a local lawyer, politician and onetime editor of the Portland Daily Press, Stanley Thomas Pullen (1843-1910) was one of the founders of the Portland Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals which was organized in May 1872. Pullen was instrumental in the formation of the Maine Society for the Protection of Animals which merged with the local group in 1891 and he is widely considered one of the state’s first animal rights pioneers.

Located on Federal Street behind the Central Fire Station, the Pullen Fountain has served as a horse watering trough for more than a century and remains in use during the warmer months when horse drawn tour carriages amble through the Old Port. The classically designed granite fountain is ornamented with six dolphins and during its heyday was referred to as the bubble by local children.

Two years ago, the Portland Public Art Committee led a restoration effort, which included an enhanced seating area, the refurbishment of the granite base as well as repairs to the plumbing so that all water elements of the fountain will work. The fountain’s location, at the edge of the Federal Street sidewalk, protrudes into the street to allow for easy access for horses.  However, this location also leaves the fountain vulnerable to vehicle traffic and winter snow clearing operations.  In recent years the fountain had to be barricaded for protection during the winter.  The $35,000 improvement effort ultimately created a more welcoming and open space to enjoy the fountain with bollards at the exterior to prevent possible damage.

When Thomas M. Pierce, Trustee for the Margaret E. Burnham Charitable Trust, learned of the planned improvements, he provided a $7,500 contribution from the Margaret E. Burnham Charitable Trust, daughter of George Burnham, for the effort.  The contribution from the Trust provided the necessary resources to complete the project.

In April 2000, the City Council established the Portland Public Art Program to preserve, restore and enhance the City’s public art collection. The Portland Public Art Program commissions art that engages with the surrounding environment to create, enrich, or reveal a sense of place, and to express the spirit, values, visions and poetry of place that collectively define Portland.  Currently, the public art collection contains twenty-nine works of art that are permanently installed throughout the city, including works of historical significance dating from the nineteenth century, as well as contemporary pieces that reflect the diversity and spirit of the city. Of the twenty-nine pieces, twelve located within walking distance of the Arts District will be a part of the Art in Our Front Yard: Portland’s Public Art Collection series. For October’s First Friday Art Walk, PPAC will lead a discussion of the Lincoln Park Fountain. For more information about the Portland Public Art Committee, visit www.portlandmaine.gov/planning/pubart.asp.

When:              Friday, September 7, 2012

                         5:30 PM

Where:            The Pullen Fountain, Federal Street (behind Central Fire Station and across from the Federal Courthouse)