05/22/2026
Our next Preservation Award winner highlight is one of our city's most recognizable features - the Forsyth Park Fountain! This historic fountain is beloved by visitors and locals alike, and its recent restoration demonstrates Excellence in Stewardship for this iconic piece of Savannah's story.
Forsyth Park was established in 1851 as a central park dedicated to public use. The park was well received by the community and quickly became known for its design of landscape architecture and urban planning throughout the country. However, citizens recognized the park lacked one thing – a fountain. In 1858, the City of Savannah agreed to move forward with the design of the Forsyth Park Fountain. The cast iron fountain came from the historically significant iron foundry Janes, Beebe & Co. and, after its installation, the classically inspired fountain quickly became the iconic jewel of the park.
Last year, the City of Savannah Government commissioned a full restoration of the Fountain, which was carried out between May and November of 2025. Landmark Preservation with collaboration of Robinson Iron Corporation, Pineapple Fountain, Pool & Spa, and Integrated Power Connections LLC led the project. The restoration scope was all encompassing, and included restoration of the cast iron fountain itself, the surrounding swans and tritons within the basin, the basin’s lining and masonry cap, and the replacement of the internal plumbing mechanisms. Many of the historic elements on the fountain had become diminished in their relief and detailing due to yearly repainting which had taken place for several decades. Rust and oxidation were present on the fountain’s cast iron and decorative elements, and upon close inspection, several decorative ironwork elements were discovered missing or beyond repair. After careful assessment and analysis of what would be required to fully restore the fountain in such a way that was mindful of its historic nature, it was determined that that it would be necessary to fully disassemble the fountain so that restoration efforts could be conducted within a controlled environment.
As a team, Landmark Preservation and Robinson Iron fully disassembled the fountain, the lady statue on top, the four urns around the fountain’s base, as well as the four swans and four tritons located within the basin. All of the cast iron elements were then carefully stripped, repaired, and primed. Elements which were either missing or beyond repair were recast by Robinson Iron. After all of the fountain’s ironwork had been restored, the project team carefully reassembled the fountain. New plumbing and nozzles for the fountain, tritons and swans were installed in tandem, and working hand and hand with the City, the spray pattern for each of the components was restored to a more historically accurate pattern. In addition to the cast iron, the fountain’s basin also received much needed repairs. A new waterproof coating was installed within the basin, and restoration to the masonry cap was also carefully carried out.
All work was performed within the guidelines established by the Secretary of Interior Standards for Historic Preservation and subscribed to the Code of Ethic of the American Institute for the Conservation of Historic Works. Repairs were matched to the existing materials in color, texture, compressive strength, and profile/design as accurately as possible, and where replacement was absolutely necessary due to detrimental failure, original casts were utilized and in-kind materials were used.
In just over 6 months of dedicated work, Landmark Preservation completed a full restoration of the fountain and, in doing so, succeeded in preserving one of Savannah’s most iconic landmarks for future generations.
