Western Colorado Community Foundation proposes relocating historic animal drinking fountain to downtown Grand Junction

Emily Urbanic, vice president of the Western Colorado Community Foundation, told the Grand Junction Historic Preservation Commission on June 2 that the foundation has identified an early-20th-century "large animal drinking fountain" that was once sited at 5th and Rood and is now being stored near Stoker Stadium.

Urbanic said the fountain is part of a series of roughly 125 fountains commissioned around the turn of the century and that Grand Junction’s example appears to survive in multiple pieces. "We think it’s really special," she said, and proposed moving it back downtown with an interpretive plaque rather than restoring it as a working fountain.

The Commission’s chair and other members asked about condition, ornamentation and logistics. Urbanic said the structure appears to be in three pieces and that the lion-head ornamentation shown in historic photos is not present on the stored pieces. She also said the foundation could commission local stone or concrete specialists and artists to recreate missing details and would fund the work from endowment resources.

City staff raised site-compatibility questions. The chair outlined several high-visibility possibilities on corner bump-outs near the foundation’s building but warned that underground utilities (water lines, stormwater, electric, gas), existing street lighting and required vision clearances would require coordination with engineering and utility departments. "We have a meeting scheduled on Thursday to discuss the feasibility of any of these sites," the chair said, noting that any public-right-of-way placement will require interdepartmental review.

Urbanic urged early Commission support and recommended a draft letter of support to send to City Council and Colorado Mesa University (CMU) if the Commission wishes to encourage relocation. Several commissioners offered to connect the foundation with the Mesa County Historical Society and other local historians who had previously assisted with provenance research.

Commissioners also discussed timing: staff said CMU’s project schedule could create urgency and that, if the university needs the area cleared quickly, the foundation could temporarily place the fountain on its adjacent patio and coordinate crane-based removal and due diligence such as digging around the base to check for a poured footing. Urbanic said the foundation would begin outreach to CMU and local stakeholders and circulate a draft letter for Commission review.

The Commission did not take a formal vote on the relocation; staff said feasibility and an interdepartmental assessment will be reported back at a future meeting.