WILMINGTON — A notorious fountain at Fifth Avenue and Market Street has reopened since being out of commission for almost three years.
Kenan Fountain had to undergo repairs and restoration, plumbing replacement, bench repairs, and east and west baluster corrections. It ceased functioning after a contract worker for the North Carolina Department of Transportation hit the bowl during a repaving and resurfacing project.
According to the City of Wilmington, the fountain has been under construction for nine months, costing $335,500 to correct. It was funded though capital project and contingency funds, as well as an insurance settlement proceed.
Barriers were removed from the location’s roundabout on Friday, allowing for unobstructed travel along NCDOT-maintained Market Street and city-maintained Fifth Avenue. Many believe the fountain presents risks to travelers, as in the last two decades alone, there have been almost two dozen incidents there, not to mention it has become a hot spot for pranksters.
In 1953 the State Highway Commission asked for its removal, but the city council voted only to reduce its footprint. The fountain became illuminated in 2013 to help further reduce traffic risks.
Made of carved limestone from an Indiana quarry, the 14-foot fountain was a gift to the city in 1921, as donated by the Kenan family. The fountain was dedicated to William R. Kenan Sr. and his wife, Mary Hargrave Kenan, by their son William R. Kenan Jr.
Kenan Sr. was a Civil War veteran who also lived in Wilmington, worked as a life insurance salesman and served as a trustee of the University of North Carolina in 1903. The family patriarch also was one of the white supremacists who commanded a group of insurgents during the Wilmington 1898 Coup and Massacre.
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