It’s been years since the sound of trickling, splashing or burbling have been heard right outside Hibbing City Hall – half a decade, to be exact.
The Centennial Fountain remains dry and not operating. The last time water was pumped through its towers was 2019, and its future does not look bright.
“It is over 30 years old and needs a complete overhaul,” stated City Services Director Nick Arola.
The list of the fountain’s issues is lengthy: the main water feed to its vault is broken under the base of it, the entire structure is degrading, the sculpture concrete is deteriorating, the lighting features no longer work, the catch basin leaks, and the pump and controls are located below grade, among others.
Over the decades, the fountain has experienced pump failures, leaking lines, a small electrical fire and a few incidents of soap pranks.
“There are no plans for it to be fixed,” said Arola. “It’s not high on the priority list.”
A complete replacement would be an investment of more than $400,000, he estimated.
“It could become a community project, but I would put our money somewhere else,” he added. “Fountains in northern Minnesota don’t work well and will continue to have issues.”
The fountain was built by donated labor of local union tradesmen during Hibbing’s Centennial Celebration in 1993. It was designed by local artist John Michael Cook and completed in 1994.
Dedicated to all individual and corporate residents of Hibbing past, present and future, funding for the fountain was made possible through the sale of the bricks surrounding it, Hibbing students’ aluminum can collection campaign and corporate donations.
It was operated and maintained by volunteers from the Hibbing Centennial Committee until they turned the responsibility over to the city in 2006.
