The landmark fountain in downtown Edmonds is gone, but not for long.
While history has repeated itself with an accident that resulted in the destruction of the fountain and “Cedar Dreams” sculpture at Fifth Avenue and Main Street, the process for replacing the art this time will be different.
The sculpture will be repaired or, if necessary, rebuilt.
“It’s going to be the same thing,” vowed Frances Chapin, cultural resources director for the city.
The bronze sculpture that has occupied the fountain roundabout since May 2000 was smashed by a teen driver early Saturday morning.
The driver, a 17-year-old Edmonds boy who police said was attempting suicide, survived without serious injuries. Police are investigating for possible charges, Sgt. Jeff Jones said.
No one else was injured in the 12:35 a.m. crash, although a window and an awning at the nearby El Puerto restaurant were damaged.
Ramon Garcia, restaurant owner, refused to talk with a reporter Saturday morning as he cleaned up nuggets of safety glass and concrete that sprayed over tables and the carpet. He did say he just wanted to be able to open for the lunch-time crowd, which he did.
In July 1998 the bronze sculpture that occupied the fountain spot for 24 years was damaged by a drunken driver.
Afterward, the sculpture was deemed unsalvageable.
Following city law, bids were solicited from artists for a new sculpture. Cedar Dreams, by Seattle artist Benson Shaw, was the winner.
The project included not only the greenish-bronze pergola that was knocked over by the driver Saturday, but several other features.
Fountain fixtures, a concrete railing, matching sidewalk benches, a swirling overlay in the intersection’s pavement and bronze sidewalk inlays of cedar branches were part of the piece. The theme honors the role of cedar trees in Edmonds’ beginnings as a mill town.
Excluding basic repairs to the fountain, the project cost $75,000, all of it donated by the Edmonds Arts Festival Foundation, Chapin said.
Shaw and others will examine the Cedar Dreams pergola and railing to see whether they can be repaired or if they have to be rebuilt, she said. Mayor Gary Haakenson said the artwork will replaced by the second quarter of 2006.
Because only parts of the artwork were damaged, the sculpture will be replaced, Chapin said. Last time, “what was destroyed was the entire artwork,” she said.
Ironically, a new Edmonds sculpture using bronze from the previous fountain artwork was dedicated Monday. “You Are Here,” by Nickolus Meisel, is installed on the south wall of City Hall, a block from the fountain.
After the 1998 accident, a studio filming a movie in Edmonds donated a white wooden pergola to the city, and it stood for nearly two years as an interim replacement.
Many residents wanted the structure, commonly referred to as a gazebo, to remain as a permanent fixture and opposed selection of new artwork. The city stuck with its plans and moved the wooden pergola to the corner of Dayton Street and Highway 104, where it remains today.
Don Olsen, one of those who led the fight to keep the pergola at the fountain, said he won’t try to resurrect the issue.
“I’m going to leave well enough alone now,” he said.
Enterprise writer Sue Waldburger contributed to this article.
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