“West” plaque replaced at Anthony fountain in Lippitt Park

On a bright, chilly October morning, the Henry Bowen Anthony Fountain, the centerpiece of Lippitt Park for 77 years, got a new “west” plaque. The bronze plaque, one of four with unique art deco-style designs inlaid in granite at the four points of the compass around the fountain, is thought to have been missing since the 1980s.

The Summit Neighborhood Association commissioned the design and fabrication of a replacement plaque. The original design was lost to time, but local artist Maret Bondorew created a new one that keeps with the themes of the surviving three. The “north” plaque evokes the dark, starry night; the “east” includes a sunrise and industrial gears suggesting the start of the working day; the “south” conveys warm mid-day sunshine.

     Bondorew drew inspiration from the sunset and the relaxing end of a working day for the new “west” plaque. Healy Plaques of Manville used Bondorew’s design to cast the bronze and provide it to SNA, after which Providence Parks Department staff members provided installation labor, materials and expertise.

The bright, new bronze will match the dark, greenish patina of the other plaques with time.

Sincere thanks go to Maret Bondorew, Healy Plaques, the City of Providence Parks Department, and State Senator Gayle Goldin for the provision of a state senate grant for neighborhood beautification.

The fountain was built in 1940 in honor of Henry Bowen Anthony, a mid-19th century U.S. senator and governor of Rhode Island, but had been deactivated in 1982. With the support of the City of Providence and The Champlin Foundation, the Summit Neighborhood Association spearheaded the restoration of the fountain in 2011, with a modern re-circulation system.

Celebrating the new plaque are, from left, Ethan Gyles (SNA). Marcello and Giovanni (Parks Department, Anneliese Greenier (SNA), Roger (Parks Department) and Maret Bondorew (artist).