49/63 Neighborhood Fountain

Proposed by the 49/63 Neighborhood Coalition, this low-profile brick fountain and large concrete sculpture were completed in 1985 for use as a community gathering place. Created by artist Will Nettleship, the sculpture was inspired by geological shapes and its low-profile design is functional for a family-friendly walking path and resting place. Visitors to the fountain encounter a sensory experience through the natural movement of the sculptures while listening to the trickling water. With a need for more seating, Nettleship created three smaller concrete sculptures a few years later, which were placed under the trees in the surrounding green space.

The 49/63 Neighborhood Coalition was founded in 1971 by area residents and community activists from churches, businesses, Rockhurst University and UMKC to “combat white-flight, block-busting, and segregation.” The coalition supports multiple neighborhoods with the boundaries from 49th Street to 63rd Street between Oak Street and The Paseo, serving 8,000 residents in over 3,000 households and hundreds of businesses. It is the oldest, continuously active neighborhood association in Kansas City and the only neighborhood association with residents on both sides of Troost Avenue, a historical racial dividing line since white-flight following the decision of Brown vs. Board of Education. Their mission is to “support our neighborhoods by providing information to educate, resources to empower, and infrastructure to connect.” 

Artist Will Nettleship first worked with the 49/63 Neighborhood Coalition in 1982 on a set of three, nine-foot abstract sculptures which served as boundary markers. As part of a renovation project the following year, the coalition commissioned Nettleship for a fountain in their community gathering place. They requested a low maintenance water feature with a family-friendly walking path and a place to rest. Nettleship created a brick fountain inset into a low-profile mound of shaped concrete based on geological forms. The scale and layout of the 105-foot concrete sculpture creates a kinesthetic experience as it offers a place to walk and sit while listening to the babbling fountain, as water trickles down zigzag patterns of raised brick into an underground chamber. Originally named the Lydia Street Fountain, the project was completed in 1985. Three years later, residents petitioned for more seating, so the 49/63 Coalition raised the money to commission Nettleship once again. He designed three smaller, outlying sculptures using the same dimensions and angles of the original sculpture, measuring 15 feet, 20 feet, and 25 feet long, and placed them under the trees. 

Throughout his career, Nettleship has been commissioned for public works of art as well as held artist residencies and exhibitions, served on design teams such as Blue Valley Park and KCMO Park System, taught at the college level, and written on sculpture and public art. He lived many years of his childhood in the National Parks and uses landscape designs to invoke the natural movement and energy from within the earth. He believes that public art in communities can serve a social purpose, using both functional and aesthetic aspects. 

49/63 Neighborhood Fountain, City of Fountains. Accessed July 30th 2022. https://cityoffountains.org/49-63-neighborhood-fountain/.

About 49/63, 49/63 Neighborhood Coalition. Accessed July 30th 2022. https://www.4963.org/about-4963.

Nettleship, Will. Public Sculpture as a Collaboration with a Community. The Art Commission of San Francisco Visual Arts Committee Meeting. January 15th, 1990. 187 - 194.

Landscape Series, Will Nettleship. Accessed August 1st, 2022. https://willnettleship.com/category_new.php?category_id=1.