After being held high and dry in storage since June 2009, the historic George Tsutakawa fountain is dripping again, having been re-installed to the interior of Burien’s main library.

The fountain, previously located outside of the new library/city hall building, was removed last June due to concerns of damage from children who were crawling in and around it.

The original installation of “Rain Fountain No.2,” made of stainless steel, 6-feet high, was in 1972 at the old Burien Library on 4th Ave SW (now the new Community Center), in an inner, protected courtyard.

Since its removal last year, the iconic fountain has been in storage.

The historic Tsutakawa fountain was originally installed in the protected courtyard at the old library.

According to Managing Librarian Marilee Cogswell, water volume for these first few weeks will remain low so that water levels can be tested and adjusted.

Here’s some info on Tsutakawa from the website Art Market Online:

George Tsutakawa dedicated his life to art and the freedom of expression that it granted him. Tsutakawa worked in a number of media, including paint, bronze, and clay. Born in Seattle in 1910, Tsutakawa went to live with his maternal grandmother in Japan from 1917 to 1927. Upon Tsutakawa’s return to Seattle, he began to study art and help with the family import/export business. His time spent in Japan as a child – especially the traditional tea ceremonies performed by his uncle – inform his work, as did the beauty of the Pacific Northwest region and the art of the Northwest Masters. Tsutakawa attended the University of Washington, and received his MFA in 1950.

In 1960 the City of Seattle commissioned George Tsutakawa to create Fountain of Wisdom, for the Seattle Library; this project was the first art commission by the city of Seattle since 1908. Between 1960 and 1990, the artist designed and created over 60 fountains throughout the United States, Canada, and Japan. He exhibited extensively throughout Japan, the United States and Canada beginning in the 1950s.

Tsutakawa was awarded many honors throughout his career including the Order of Rising Sun Award, fourth class, from the Emperor of Japan.

On Monday night (May 10), KING5.com did a video report on the story (which we first reported May 1st) about the Burien library’s call for a Request for Proposal (RFP) for the historic George Tsutakawa fountain “Rain Fountain No.2,” which was removed last year after it was assessed as potentially being damaged.

The RFP calls for the fountain to be re-installed inside the library, with a deadline for proposals of May 17.

Here’s how KING5 treated this story (link here):

With King County facing a $60 million budget shortfall, why is the King County Library System spending thousands of dollars on a fountain? The fountain was moved from the old Burien Library to the new library, and now it will be moved again.

The Oregon Daily Journal of Commerce is reporting that a “Request for Proposal” (RFP) has been released for a project that would re-locate the historic George Tsutakawa fountain to the interior of Burien’s new library.

The fountain was removed from the outside of the building last June due to concerns of damage from children who were crawling in and around it.

The original installation of “Rain Fountain No.2,” made of stainless steel, 6′, was in 1972 at the (old) Burien Library on 4th Ave SW (now the new, temporary Community Center), in an inner, protected courtyard.

Since its removal last year, the iconic fountain has been in storage.

“As it happens the contractors and our facilities folks are coming out next week to make final decisions about the process,” said Burien Library Manager Marilee Cogswell. “So we should see some movement very soon. The fountain will be installed inside the Burien Library.”

Last June, the iconic George Tsutakawa fountain was removed from outside Burien's new library.

According to the RFP, project proposals are being requested by May 17 at 2pm for:

“…the demolition of existing interior wall and floor surfaces, installation of stainless steel fountain liner with stainless steel railing, new cementitious backing board under new ceramic tile, new gypsum board wall surfacing material, joint sealers, new floor material to match the existing material, new pedestrian traffic coating in a storage room, and mechanical and electrical systems.

The project will be substantially completed in 90 calendar days after the notice to proceed. Final completion will not be later than 45 days after substantial completion.”

Here’s some info on Tsutakawa from the website Art Market Online:

George Tsutakawa dedicated his life to art and the freedom of expression that it granted him. Tsutakawa worked in a number of media, including paint, bronze, and clay. Born in Seattle in 1910, Tsutakawa went to live with his maternal grandmother in Japan from 1917 to 1927. Upon Tsutakawa’s return to Seattle, he began to study art and help with the family import/export business. His time spent in Japan as a child – especially the traditional tea ceremonies performed by his uncle – inform his work, as did the beauty of the Pacific Northwest region and the art of the Northwest Masters. Tsutakawa attended the University of Washington, and received his MFA in 1950.

In 1960 the City of Seattle commissioned George Tsutakawa to create Fountain of Wisdom, for the Seattle Library; this project was the first art commission by the city of Seattle since 1908. Between 1960 and 1990, the artist designed and created over 60 fountains throughout the United States, Canada, and Japan. He exhibited extensively throughout Japan, the United States and Canada beginning in the 1950’s. Tsutakawa was awarded many honors throughout his career including the Order of Rising Sun Award, fourth class, from the Emperor of Japan.

To read the full story and find out more about the RFP, click here.

Thursday (July 2nd), we received the following email from a BTB Reader named Jessica, inquiring about the 1972 George Tsutakawa fountain at the new library, which has been recently removed:

Hello,

Yesterday I visited the beautiful new Burien library and noticed the fountain in front was missing. I know it made it in the move as I had previously saw it at the new location.

When I asked one of the librarians what had happened to the sculpture she said it is currently in storage but was unsure as to why.

With the community so boisterous about one particular bronze sculpture I can’t imagine why they are not up in arms to protect the lovely G rated George Tsutakawa Fountain.

Is there not enough room in Burien for more than one sculpture?

Or perhaps someone complained about the environmental impact of the base of the sculpture being too small and thus causing a small amount of water to be wasted.

I thought if anyone could get to the bottom of this it would be the B-Town Blog.

Thank you,
Jessica

So we contacted our “Empress Of Information,” Marilee Cogswell, Manager of the Burien branch, who said:

Yes, it has been removed temporarily – we are looking at alternative sites for it as it was getting a bit too much attention (trash, coins, and climbing) in that space.

It was decided to pull it out and store it before any real damage happened.

We are looking at a couple of alternatives..one inside the building and one outside.

I don’t have a timeline, but will keep you posted.

George Tsutakawa's "Rain Fountain No. 2" used to be inside a protected courtyard.

The original installation of this fountain was in an inner courtyard of the old library, which was protected from human interaction.

The new location was not, hence the concerns and subsequent removal.

When we took the photos early Thursday evening three young boys were playing around in the fountain’s base, empty of everything but rocks.

“I think they moved it ‘cuz kids were playing on it,” said one young man who was literally inside the base when asked what happened. Moments later, he found a coin from under some rocks.

Here’s some info on Tsutakawa from the website Art Market Online:

George Tsutakawa dedicated his life to art and the freedom of expression that it granted him. Tsutakawa worked in a number of media, including paint, bronze, and clay. Born in Seattle in 1910, Tsutakawa went to live with his maternal grandmother in Japan from 1917 to 1927. Upon Tsutakawa’s return to Seattle, he began to study art and help with the family import/export business. His time spent in Japan as a child – especially the traditional tea ceremonies performed by his uncle – inform his work, as did the beauty of the Pacific Northwest region and the art of the Northwest Masters. Tsutakawa attended the University of Washington, and received his MFA in 1950.

In 1960 the City of Seattle commissioned George Tsutakawa to create Fountain of Wisdom, for the Seattle Library; this project was the first art commission by the city of Seattle since 1908. Between 1960 and 1990, the artist designed and created over 60 fountains throughout the United States, Canada, and Japan. He exhibited extensively throughout Japan, the United States and Canada beginning in the 1950’s. Tsutakawa was awarded many honors throughout his career including the Order of Rising Sun Award, fourth class, from the Emperor of Japan.

In 1972, “Rain Fountain No.2,” made of stainless steel, 6′, was installed at the (old) Burien Library on 4th Ave SW.

We’ll keep you posted as this story develops, so check back often. You can also subscribe to our free RSS Feed here, or get the blog via email here.