Iconic fountain is re-sealed

| By DES Communications

The Tivoli Fountain shooting water into the sky, and out to the sides from the center in many different streams, with blooming flowers and a beautiful blue sky background.
Tivoli Fountain

Over nine days last month, DES repaired concrete and grout in the 71-year-old Tivoli Fountain, a centerpiece of the state Capitol's west campus lawn.

During the summer, DES maintenance technician Andrew "Tige" Rajic noticed that the fountain's water was seeping through the mortared joints of its concrete basin. In response, DES shut off the fountain on Sept. 16.

Workers removed and replaced the old mortar, then applied a water-repellent finish. The fountain resumed flowing on Sept. 25.

The earliest of three water features installed on the Capitol Campus, Tivoli Fountain began to run on April 15, 1953. It was designed to resemble the centerpiece of a Copenhagen park, which had been inspired, in turn, by a fountain that graced an Italian Renaissance garden. In 2017, DES upgraded the fountain's pipes and mechanical systems, reducing its water usage by 32%.

Video transcript:

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Jeff MacDonald, Historic and Cultural Resources Planner, Washington Department Enterprise Services. Well, the Tivoli Fountain was conceived in the late 40s and was a gift to the state of Washington from the Olympia-Tumwater Foundation.

Now, 70 plus years later, it's something that we still get to enjoy, and these things do not take care of themselves. So now we're finding opportunities to learn about how these historic features are aging over time and what we can be doing to preserve them better for the generations to come.

My name is Andrew Rajic Jr. I go by Tige. I'm with DES. I'm a Maintenance 3 Mechanic. I'm also a part of HVAC, but I'm the fountain guy. I also do all the cooling towers on the campus. My predecessor, he retired and I still think of it as his fountain. So, I always like to keep it up. And plus, we got tours coming through every hour on the hour. I meet a lot of interesting people from all over the place.

Typical week, I'd say beginning of the week, I come in, make sure the fountains are all running. Water levels are good. Chemicals… I do chemical testing. Also there's two sand filters that help keep the debris and stuff out of here and I have to flush those once or twice a week depending on the weather. So, I make sure that it's presentable for when people come to enjoy the view.

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