Emerging Restaurant & Entertainment Area

Fountain fix designed to revitalize Square
Star report
Posted: September 8, 2009

Paul Baumgarten, manager of Fountain Square Main Street and a staffer at Southeast Neighborhood Development, is organizing the construction of a new Fountain Square fountain as part of revitalization efforts for the Near-Southside neighborhood.

The Pioneer Family statue at the intersection of Virginia Avenue and Shelby and Prospect streets will be replaced later this year by a cast-iron reproduction of Lady Spray, the water nymph sculpture that stood there in the early 20th century.

The Pioneer Family will eventually return to a new plaza nearby.
Baumgarten today answered some questions by e-mail about the fountain and the business district:

Q: How many businesses are in the Fountain Square district? Can you give me three or four primary ones, businesses that people who live far from the area might recall or know?

A: There are approximately 100 businesses and organizations in the Fountain Square district. There are 113 members (businesses, not-for-profit organizations, neighborhood associations and artists) of the Fountain Square Merchants Association (the boundaries are much larger than Fountain Square).

Our biggest attractors of outside visitors are the Fountain Square Theatre Building (which includes the Smokehouse on Shelby, Shelbi Street Cafe & Bistro, Fountain Square Theatre, Action Bowl and Atomic Bowl Duckpin Bowling, Shelby Suites and Fountainview Inn), great ethnic restaurants (Santorini Greek Kitchen, Siam Square, Naisa Asian Café, Luxor, El Arado, and Maria's Pizza), destination retail (Claus' German Sausage and Meats, Boca Loca Beads, Joe's Cycles, Mass Ave Knit Shop, Indianapolis Downtown Antique Mall, Domistyle), and creative facilities and businesses (AV Framing Gallery, indySwank: art - fashion - décor, Murphy Art Center, Wheeler Arts Community, Radio Radio, White Rabbit Cabaret, Deano's Vino).

Top recognizable businesses are Fountain Square Theatre Building (and duckpin bowling alleys), Santorini Greek Kitchen, Murphy Art Center and Deano's Vino.

Q: What are the district's primary challenges? Primary successes?

A: Our primary challenges have been to improve the physical quality of the Fountain Square commercial corridor -- buildings, infrastructure, landscaping -- while improving the quality and mix of businesses. We have also had to work to change peoples' perceptions about Fountain Square, and to introduce people who have not had reason to come to Fountain Square to visit. All of these things take a significant amount of time and money.

In the last ten years, there have been steady, gradual improvements to the commercial corridor. We have seen the quality of businesses in Fountain Square improve and, today, we're a neighborhood of fantastic independent and independent ethnic restaurants, and unique retail and entertainment venues. We also have businesses that support and serve the neighborhood residents (grocery, library, health center, thrift store, furniture store, laundry), and not-for-profit and professional service businesses that serve a wider audience.

Fountain Square is becoming known as a neighborhood where artists live and work. There are more than 60 artist studios and lofts on or near the commercial corridor, and many artists live in the greater Fountain Square area. Thanks to investments through the Fountain Square Main Street/FOCUS Program and the Cultural Districts Initiative, Fountain Square is becoming a vital hub of creativity. The Fountain Project, which has taken more that 14 years to get to this point, will be a significant physical change that will serve as a milestone in efforts to revitalize the neighborhood.

All of this is being accomplished through Southeast Neighborhood Development's commitment to improving Fountain Square, through the dedication and support of residents, neighborhood associations, and the Fountain Square Merchants Association, and through financial support from Lilly, Anthem (WellPoint), Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance, and the Indianapolis Foundation and the Local Initiative Support Corporation (LISC).

Q: Who is doing the Lady Spray water nymph? Is it an aritst from Indianapolis?

A: The new fountain (see attached drawings) is a new casting from Robinson Iron Works in Alexander City, Ala. The fountain is being made from molds taken from a historic fountain in New York State. The original Lady Spray in Fountain Square was a stock catalog item from Robert Wood in Philadelphia. The new statue is the same catalog figure that was on the original Fountain Square fountain.