Groups Aiming To Raise More Than $1M To Restore Beloved Loring Park Fountain

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- The beloved dandelion-shaped fountain at downtown Minneapolis' Loring Park is much need of repair, and neighborhood groups are stepping up, hoping to raise more than $1 million for the project.

The Star Tribune reports that two groups, Loring Park Community and Friends of Loring Park, are spearheading the effort to restore the Berger Fountain, which needs all of its original components replaced as well as a redesign of its surrounding plaza.

The fountain repair project, which currently sits low on the Minneapolis Park Board's priorities list, is expected to cost more than $1 million. Still, neighborhood organizers are hopeful the money will come through, telling the newspaper that they believe the project can even be completed by 2021.

Along with the repairs, there are also plans to design a winter covering for the fountain, which during the long winters in encased in an unattractive plywood box. Students from the nearby Dunwoody College of Technology have come up with artistic winter cover designs, which are slated to be voted on next week.