Swan Fountain
Owner: City of Mission Hills
Dates: 1925
Artist: Romanelli Studios
Description:
AKA Fountain Swan
Verona Columns Park is at the intersection of Ensley Lane, Overhill Road, and Mission Lane in Mission Hills. The park is named after the eight columns at the back of the park arranged in a slight semi-circular pattern. At the base of the stairs that lead up to the columns, is an oval pool in which the Swan Fountain sits. Another long reflecting pool with three bubblers down the center leads from the street to the Swan Fountain.
The Swan Fountain is almost ten feet tall. Water bubbles out of the top tier of the fountain and cascades into the lower tier before running and falling into the pool below. On the second tier, the central column is ringed by four swans. A swan sits on each foot of the fountain just above the pool. The swans on the feet were added in 1986 to replace the originals, which had been destroyed.
The fountain, the columns, and the urn that sits between the columns were purchased by landscape architect Herman Hare on behalf of JC Nichols in 1925 in Verona, Italy. The urn and Swan Fountain were designed and created by Romanelli Studios. The columns are twelve feet tall and made of Verona marble with a distinctive pinkish hue. In 1986, the columns were restored. A plaque is mounted below the urn commemorating the restoration effort and it lists contributors to the restoration project.
