Butler-Perozzi Fountain - Lithia Park Historic District - Ashland, OR
N 42° 11.614 W 122° 43.116
10T E 523234 N 4671306
This fountain was displayed as part of the San Francisco Panama-Pacific International Exposition in 1915 and then purchased and relocated to Lithia Park in 1916. It is also a contributing structure within the Lithia Park Historic District.
Waymark Code: WMWJQG
Location: Oregon, United States
Date Posted: 09/13/2017
Views: 1
Lithia Park is hands-down the most beautiful and diverse park in all of Southern Oregon. It's Ashland's crown jewel, providing many activities for visitors all through the year. From walking along many of the bark-covered paths and trails throughout the park, to bathing in Ashland Creek which flows through the middle of the park, to picnicking at any of many picnic tables that are spread throughout the grounds, Lithia Park has something for everyone. There is a playground, a Rose Garden, a Japanese Garden, tennis courts, two duck ponds to feed the ducks... There are so many things to do here, it is almost impossible to appreciate the whole park in just one day, but it CAN be done. I've done it myself a few times!
One of the centerpieces in the heart of Lithia Park is the Butler-Perozzi Fountain sculpted in Italy by Italian artist A. Frilli. This fountain was showcased at the Panama-Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco in 1915 and was located among a number of palace buildings that made up the Expo grounds at what is now known as the Marina District. Domingo Perozzi was instrumental in purchasing the fountain (along with Gwin Butler) for $3000 after completion of the Expo and shipping it to Ashland and donating it to the city and the park. There are two plaques that lie near the fountain and one commemorates the original completion of the fountain as well as the restoration of the fountain in 1987. The plaque says the following:
BUTLER-PEROZZI FOUNTAIN
1916
SCULPTOR, A. FRILLI, FLORENCE, ITALY
RESTORED AND RE-SCULPTED
1987
SCULPTOR, JEFFREY BERNARD, ASHLAND, OREGON
THIS FOUNTAIN WAS GIVEN TO THE CITY OF ASHLAND BY
GWIN S. BUTLER AND DOMINGO PEROZZI IN 1916.
THE RESTORATION WAS FOUNDED BY THE CITIZENS OF ASHLAND
AND HER MANY FRIENDS IN ORDER THAT THE FOUNTAIN
MIGHT ONCE AGAIN GRACE THIS BEAUTIFUL PARK.
The National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form for Lithia Park briefly mentions the Butler-Perozzi Fountain as a contributing structure on page 7 (of 25) under Map Key No. 10.
This fountain is also mentioned on page 17 of the NRHP Nomination Form and reads:
On November 18, (1916) G. S. Butler and D. [omingo] Perozzi announced the purchase of a fountain at the San Francisco Fair for approximately $3000, to be erected in the Park as a memorial to themselves as donors of land for the Park. This is the Perozzi Fountain, near Granite Street, where the stairs are.
The fountain experienced major damage over the decades (see the picture below from 1981 in its worst state) and was fully rebuilt and restored in 1987. It has gone through additional rehabilitation over the years, most recently in 2013-14.
