Help Restore the William Volker Memorial Fountain
The recent vandalism of the William Volker Memorial Fountain has left our community saddened and determined to restore this historic monument.
Created in the 1950s specifically for Kansas City, by renowned Swedish artist Carl Milles, the sculptures of St. Martin of Tours and several surrounding figures represent the charity and philanthropy of William Volker. The fountain has been an important part of Kansas City’s cultural heritage for 66 years.
The senseless destruction, which saw parts of the statues stolen, has significantly impacted the City of Fountains. We now face the challenge of costly repairs, including potential overseas work to faithfully restore the sculptures.
The City of Fountains Foundation is actively seeking donations to help cover these expenses.
Swedish sculptor Carl Milles’ last work, the St. Martin of Tours Sculpture, is the centerpiece of the Volker Memorial Fountain. Volker, who came to Kansas City from Chicago in the late 1880s, became a prominent businessman and philanthropist. He gave to causes large and small, including donating the money used to purchase land to start a university now is University of Missouri-Kansas City.
In the sculpture, St. Martin, then a young Roman soldier, is cutting his cloak to share with the beggar below. Nearby, a bewildered faun, a seated angel (wearing a wristwatch) and a flying angel (playing a flute on the left side instead of the conventional right) watch the scene. Bruno Bearzi of Florence, Italy was founder for the equestrian figure, and Herman Bergman of Stockholm was the founder of the other figures. The memorial was dedicated in 1958, three years after Milles died.
The was originally located north of Brush Creek but was moved south of the creek in the 1990s because of the Brush Creek flood Control project. In conjunction with the Parks Department, the City of Fountains Foundation has undertaken a fundraising drive to relocate the memorial as close as possible to where it used to be. The main goals are to make access to the memorial easier and to generate more activity in Theis Park, which is named for Frank Theis, a Park Board member who died in 1960.
