The James Scott Memorial Fountain is a monument located in

Belle Isle Park Belle Isle Park, known simply as Belle Isle (), is a island park in Detroit, Michigan, developed in the late 19th century. It consists of Belle Isle, an island in the Detroit River, as well as several surrounding islets. The U.S.-Canada bor ...

, in

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

. Designed by architect

Cass Gilbert Cass Gilbert (November 24, 1859 – May 17, 1934) was an American architect. An early proponent of Early skyscrapers, skyscrapers, his works include the Woolworth Building, the United States Supreme Court building, the state capitols of Minneso ...

and sculptor Herbert Adams, the fountain was completed in 1925 at a cost of $500,000. The lower bowl has a diameter of and the central spray reaches . The fountain honors the controversial James Scott, who left $200,000 to the City of Detroit for a fountain in tribute to himself.

History

Scott was left a sizable fortune by his father who invested in Detroit real estate.Austin, Dan. According to contemporaries, Scott gambled and told off-color stories. He was described by twentieth-century author W. Hawkins Ferry as a "vindictive, scurrilous misanthrope" P. 44. who attempted to intimidate his business competitors and when this was unsuccessful, he filed suit. Perhaps for these reasons, Scott died in 1910 with no heirs or colleagues and he bequeathed his estate to the City of Detroit with the condition that the fountain include a life-sized

bronze statue Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals (such as phosphorus) or metalloids (su ...

of him. P. 78. Some accounts state that the

will Will may refer to: Common meanings * Will and testament, instructions for the disposition of one's property after death * Will (philosophy), or willpower * Will (sociology) * Will, volition (psychology) * Will, a modal verb - see Shall and will ...

required that the statue be at the fountain's pinnacle. Several community and religious leaders—including Bishop Charles D. Williams—spoke against accepting the bequest, saying that a person with Scott's reputation should not be immortalized in the city. Mayor Philip Breitmeyer and City Council President David Heineman urged accepting the gift, saying that the city shouldn't insult any of its citizens by refusing such a generous offer. While the debate raged, Scott's fortune continued to grow, topping $1 million by the time construction commenced. Since 2018, the

Detroit Grand Prix The title of Detroit Grand Prix (United States Grand Prix – East) was applied to the Formula One races held at the Detroit street circuit in Detroit, Detroit, Michigan, United States of America from 1982 through 1988. History In 1982, the U ...

INDYCAR race has used the Fountain as its podium backdrop. Drivers are known to dip into the fountain after a race win.

Design

The monument is located in

, in

. Designed by architect

and sculptor Herbert Adams, the

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock consisting of carbonate minerals (most commonly calcite (CaCO3) or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite (CaMg(CO3)2) that have recrystallized under the influence of heat and pressure. It has a crystalline texture, and is ty ...

fountain was completed in 1925 at a cost of $500,000. The lower bowl has a diameter of and the central spray reaches . The final design placed Scott's statue in an inconspicuous spot behind the fountain.

Movie appearances

A famous scene from the 1973 drama '' Scarecrow'', starring Gene Hackman and Al Pacino was filmed here. In the scene shortly after learning of the death of his estranged son (though falsified by the mother), Pacino's character Francis Lionel 'Lion' Delbuchi, happily plays with a group of children before, upon uncovering a deep emotional truth, he snatches one of them up and begins to ascend the fountain. He is left catatonic in a hospital following the incident. The fountain is also featured briefly in Anthony Mann's 1947 film noir '' T-Men'', photographed by John Alton. Early in the film, two Treasury Agents preparing to go undercover discuss Detroit criminal gangs and gang activities while standing in front of the fountain.

Gallery

File:The James Scott Memorial Fountain, Belle Isle Park, Detroit, Mich (68300).jpg, Old postcard File:JSMFLIONDETAIL.jpg, Detail of one of fountain's lion figures File:JSMFLOWERBASINPOOL.jpg, Detail of one of the eight small pools in the lower basin File:JSMFLOWERBASIN.jpg, The lower basin File:JSMFDETROITINDUSTRYDETAIL.jpg, 16 separate reliefs depict life in the early days of Detroit File:Belle Isle casino and fountain - Detroit Michigan.jpg, The Belle Isle Casino is in the background of a dry James Scott Memorial Fountain

References

External links