Horace E. Dodge and Son Memorial Fountain

01 / The story of this place

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Following the acclaim for his dramatic fountains at Expo '70 in Osaka, sculptor Isamu Noguchi was commissioned to design a fountain for the new Hart Plaza on Detroit's riverfront, funded by a bequest from Anna Thompson Dodge, widow of Dodge Brothers co-founder Horace Elgin Dodge, in memory of her husband and their son, also named Horace. Noguchi's design, a roughly thirty-foot-tall stainless steel ring raised on two angled legs above a sunken black granite pool, became one of his most ambitious public fountains, costing about two million dollars. It was installed as the centerpiece of Hart Plaza when the plaza opened in the late 1970s, with its formal dedication following in 1981, and it can spray water in dozens of programmed patterns, from soft mist to towering jets. The fountain fell into disrepair over the decades but has undergone restoration work funded by the City of Detroit, and it remains a signature piece of public art on the riverfront.

1. Designed by sculptor Isamu Noguchi
2. Funded by Anna Dodge in memory of her husband Horace Dodge and their son
3. A roughly 30-foot steel ring over a sunken granite pool
4. The centerpiece of Hart Plaza since the plaza's 1970s opening