Winter - Louisville, Kentucky
Posted by: DougK
N 38° 16.837 W 085° 42.077
16S E 613590 N 4237748
Winter is one of ten sculptures located around the Louisville Water Tower balustrade.
Waymark Code: WMKR53
Location: Kentucky, United States
Date Posted: 05/20/2014
Views: 2
Winter is one of
nine smithsonian sculptures located around the balustrade of the
Louisville Water Company Pumping Station, a National Register Historic Landmark.
From the Smithsonian AIC Description:
A standing figure of Winter or Vesta (goddess of the hearth), in a hooded cape holding fire in a pierced jug. She holds the bottom of the jug with her proper right hand and places her proper left hand near the flame.
From the Smithsonian AIC Remarks:
The sculpture was installed around 1893, atop a column surrounding the Louisville Water Tower. It replaces an earlier sculpture that was one of ten original pieces installed on the tower around 1860. The tower was designed by Water Company Chief Engineer Theodore R. Scowden. The original sculptures were a mix of Greek and Roman gods and goddesses. Eight were destroyed by an 1890 tornado, that also destroyed the water tower. In the early 1890s, a new cast iron water tower was built and replacement figures were added around 1893. Most of the replacement figures were ordered from J. W. Fiske Iron Works.
Contractor Patrick Bannon is responsible for placing the replacement sculptures on the tower for a sum of $1,650. Funding may have been provided by Michael Muldoon, founder of the Muldoon Monument Company, and son-in-law of James S. Lithgow, an original board member of the Louisville Water Company. Muldoon may also be responsible for selecting the replacement sculptures. Between 1990 and 1993, the sculpture and tower were restored. The Water Tower is a National Historic Landmark.