Detroit officials are pushing ahead with plans to bring water back to Palmer Park's Merrill Fountain, a 125-year-old white marble landmark that has sat dry for more than five decades. City leaders say design work is underway to restore the fountain and relocate it closer to a former electrical substation near Woodward Avenue, a move meant to finally give the monument working plumbing. The project is expected to go out for bid this fall, with construction targeted for spring or summer of 2027.
According to WXYZ Channel 7, District 2 Council Member Angela Whitfield-Calloway called the fountain "a city, state and national treasure" and "a landmark worth preserving" during a recent project update. Rhea Bautista told the station that moving the fountain nearer to the old substation "will provide pump storage and proper utilities, water and plumbing," adding that the project should help future generations enjoy it. Eddie Smith, a park visitor, said he wants to see the fountain restored and thinks it will be "awesome," the station reported.
A Beaux-Arts Landmark With National Pedigree
The fountain was dedicated on July 16, 1901, designed in the Italian Renaissance style by architects John M. Carrère and Thomas Hastings, the same duo behind the New York Public Library, according to Historic Detroit. It was commissioned by Elizabeth "Lizzie" Merrill Palmer in memory of her father, lumber baron Charles Merrill, and gifted to the city of Detroit.
The marble monument originally stood at Campus Martius in front of the old Detroit Opera House before it was moved to Palmer Park in 1925, per the same account. City leaders at the time cited the widening of Woodward Avenue, complaints about youths diving into the basin for coins, and drivers who had difficulty navigating around the fountain downtown. It now sits at the south end of Palmer Park, land that Senator Thomas W. Palmer donated to the city in 1897 on behalf of his wife, according to the Detroit Historical Society. The fountain was added to the National Register of Historic Places on December 14, 1976, yet it has remained dry and neglected for more than 50 years, Historic Detroit notes.
How City Council Secured the Money
The restoration nearly got a much smaller budget. During Detroit City Council's budget deliberations in April 2024, Whitfield-Calloway defended a $2.5 million allocation for the fountain against a proposal from other council members to cut it to $500,000, according to BridgeDetroit. The funding was ultimately assembled by reallocating money from vacant municipal personnel positions and prior-year budget surpluses, the outlet reported.
That commitment led to a follow-up contract in March 2025, when the council approved $420,929.76 for Detroit-based Giffels-Webster Engineers, Inc. to handle architecture and engineering services for the restoration, according to city meeting records reviewed by the City of Detroit. The nonprofit group People for Palmer Park had explored fixing the fountain as part of its broader advocacy for the 296-acre park, though the city's design phase marks the shift from grassroots pressure to funded municipal execution.
Community Weighs In on Design Update
Whitfield-Calloway and the city's Capital Planning team held a public meeting at the Palmer Park Community House on July 13 to present an update on the restoration, according to the City of Detroit. City leaders say the project remains in the design phase and that they received community input on the plans, which call for the fountain's water features and broken pieces to be restored and upgraded.
Residents who spoke with WXYZ described what the fountain's revival could mean for the neighborhood. Stacy Varner said the fountain gives the community
