Mumbai: Fitzgerald Fountain in Marine Lines all ready to spout

The lamp was placed on top of the fountain on Saturday night. Pic/Ashish Raje

With the final piece of the lamp placed on top, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Saturday, finished restoring the Fitzgerald Fountain to its original glory at its original location opposite Metro Cinema at Marine Lines. However, it is yet to decide on an inauguration date.

The civic body, along with experts working on the restoration, installed the lamp, the only pending component, atop the fountain. The BMC had started restoring the fountain in 2018. However, it soon realised that 200 parts were missing and consequently, a restoration team, comprising 150 experts and staff members, prepared a detailed design.

Following this, moulds were cast for replicas of the missing pieces after extensive research. mid-day has been reporting on the developments on the fountain through a series of stories. The lamp's designs were found in the drawings of another identical fountain erected in Northamptonshire in 1863 and built in the Eagle foundry. Using the drawings, a lamp was made out of aluminium.

The 40-feet-tall structure went through the thorough restoration for over a year and a half at the Veermata Jijabai Bhosale Udyan at Byculla and is likely to be thrown open soon after the bollards and informative plaques are put up at the viewing gallery.

A civic official said, "Work of another three or four days is remaining. We will then be ready to inaugurate it and throw it open to the public as the viewing gallery, too, will be ready. The work was supposed to be completed in April but because of the lockdown caused COVID-19, there was a delay. The lamp was our final piece, which has been restored. Only very superficial work remains now."

About the fountain

The Fitzgerald Fountain was erected in 1867 at the Metro Junction in Dhobi Talao to mark the arrival of Sir William Robert Seymour Vesey-Fitzgerald, who served as Governor of Bombay from 1867 to 1872. According to civic officials, it was pulled down in 1960 and later placed in the lawns behind Dr Bhau Daji Lad Museum, where it was left in a state of neglect.

150
No. of experts who worked on restoration

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