KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Sea Horse Fountain is a beacon for drivers traveling along Meyer Boulevard and Ward Parkway. In the 1960s, vandals destroyed the figure at the top of the fountain.
The most recent damage wasn't caused by criminals.
With drivers dodging potholes on Ward Parkway, it may be hard to spot the damage on the fountain.
About a third of a bowl fell off the 94-year-old fountain.
41 Action News has learned the harsh winter is to blame.
"When that stone takes some of that weathering from the freezing, thawing process this is what can happen," Jordan Cline, landscape architect with the KCMO Parks and Recreation, said.
Cline said they've hired a conservator to fix the damage.
"He's going to be putting pins in there and then he will assemble all the pieces that have fallen off of the fountain put those together and kind of-- essentially glue it back all together," Cline said.
KCMO Parks and Recreation is working with the "City of Fountains Foundation" to fund the $28,000 it'll cost for repairs.
"To have this breakage is disappointing, but it’s not unheard of," James Fitzpatrick, a City of Fountains Foundation board member, said. "It’s keeping with the weather we’ve had and we can handle it."
Fitzpatrick remembers the last time the fountain was out of commission for two years.
At that time, he helped raise the money needed to fix the fountain's pump room.
Fitzpatrick said the $28,000 to repair the damaged bowl will come from the money left over from the project completed in 2017.
"We take kind of a proprietary sense of ownership of this fountain, even thought it belongs to everyone," Fitzpatrick said. "Many people go by here tens of thousands maybe hundreds of thousands a day going all over the area, including into Kansas, and we want our fellow Kansans to see how proud we are of this fountain."
Work is expected to begin Friday. If the weather cooperates, the repairs should be complete for Fountain Day on April 16.
