KALAMAZOO (WKZO AM/FM) — Contractors will begin to dismantle the Fountain of the Pioneers on Monday, removing several artistic elements first.
That includes the statue that depicts a pioneer and a Native American in a “posture of Noble Resistance” as the artist Alfonso Iannelli, described it.
Several of the art deco panels and other pieces will be preserved and stored but the rest will be demolished.
Manager Jim Ritsema says they have not yet determined where the pieces will end up.
By Memorial Day they plan to have the fountain removed and the reflecting pools filled in with dirt and covered in sod.
That’s the way the park will remain until they rework their grand plan for renovations.
