Tattnall Square Park fountain flows again after 80 years

It had been 80 years since water flowed from a fountain in Tattnall Square Park, but on Thursday streams spilled from the large iron bowls of the park's new centerpiece.

More than 200 people gathered in the heart of the park to celebrate the historic moment, including neighbors, Alexander II Elementary School students, city officials and others.

"This community did this together," said Andrew Silver, chairman of Friends of Tattnall Square Park. "We call this the Tattnall Square Park peace fountain."

The first fountain was placed in the park in 1915 but stopped working in 1934 and was removed in the 1960s. This past September, a $450,000 fountain was moved to the park, paid for with contributions from Mercer University, Sierra Development Corp., the Piedmont Construction Group and people who live near the park, Silver said.

The fountain is surrounded by a circular plaza divided into four sections labeled with concepts "absolutely necessary for peace in a community," Silver said.

"We asked children in the park, 'What do you think is necessary to create peace?'," Silver said.

Their answers -- love, justice, trust and hope -- are the themes of the park's four entrances.

Each entrance bears four quotes from local unsung heroes, some who acted in pursuit of justice and peace, Silver said.

Engraved on a cement block between the "Love" and "Justice" entrances is a quote from Mercer's first black student, Sam Oni, which says: "Once you recognize the divine in you and in me, and you behave consistent with that knowledge, you are liberated."

Oni, 74, now lives in Atlanta and attended the fountain ceremony.

"That really is my core belief," Oni said after the grand opening. "That's what inspires my being alive. I believe that ... there is a part of God in me as well as in you. ... That's what makes discrimination (and) segregation, even without the fundamental question of race, an absurdity."

When Oni first attended Mercer in 1963, Tattnall Square Park was largely bare because of racial tensions, he said. Louis Wynn, a black man, was stabbed by two white men in the park that same year.

"When it became clear that the segregationists could not have it their way, the result was the park being more or less abandoned to fall into disrepair," Oni said. "There really wasn't that much to draw you into the park."

Oni said he thinks the improved Tattnall Square Park is lovely, and he's grateful for the changes.

Mercer University President Bill Underwood, Macon-Bibb County Mayor Robert Reichert, John S. and James L. Knight Foundation program director Beverly Blake spoke at the ceremony, which also marked the completion of the park's second-ever master plan.

Efforts to bring life to the park began four years ago, Underwood said.

"The vision was to have the finest municipal park in Georgia," finer than Savannah's Forsyth Park and Atlanta's Piedmont Park, Underwood said. "If you take a few moments before you leave today and look around, we're there."

Since the upgrade efforts began, 350 trees have been planted, two rain gardens have been built, three sidewalks have been finished, seating walls and gardens have been installed near the pavilion and four gateways have been restored, Silver said, adding that "without passion and sustained advocacy, even the best of plans will die."

To contact writer Laura Corley, call 744-4334 or follow her on Twitter @Lauraecor.

This story was originally published December 3, 2015 at 6:05 PM with the headline "Tattnall Square Park fountain flows again after 80 years ."