(WXYZ) — The Detroit City Council approved a plan to spend nearly $5.6 million to restore the Dodge Fountain at Hart Plaza.
Our partners at the Detroit Documenters and Outlier Media were covering the city council meeting on Tuesday where they approved the funds.
According to the Detroit Documenters, the council voted 8-1 to approve the funds, which will come from the American Rescue Plan Act, which provided cities with funds during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Councilwoman Angela Whitfield-Calloway was the lone vote against the resolution. She said she’d rather see the funds used to restore the Merrill Fountain at Palmer Park, which was created in 1901 and is on the National Historic Register of Places.
Last year, the city announced plans to restore the Dodge Fountain at the riverfront plaza ahead of the 2024 NFL Draft.
It began with the evaluation of the fountain and will now include removing panels from the fountain’s dome light, repairing jet lights and reassembling them.
Hart Plaza opened in 1975 and can hold 40,000 people. It hosts major events in the City of Detroit, including several music festivals.
The fountain is officially called the Horace E. Dodge and Son Memorial Fountain, and was designed by Isamu Noguchi in 1978.
