Fountain of the Tortoises
San Francisco Arts Commission
Huntington Park, San Francisco, California

The original Fountain of the Tortoises (Fontana delle Tartarughe) is located in Rome’s Piazza Mattei. The Huntington Park copy is one of six in the United States made by the Chiurazzi foundry. Mrs. Crocker purchased the fountain from an estate outside of Rome in 1924 and moved it to the Crocker estate in Hillsborough, California. After her death in 1952, the fountain was donated to the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department, and installed in Huntington Park in 1955.

ARG provided conservation services for restoration and repair of the fountain, including dismantling, storing, and stabilizing the fountain during the reinstallation; providing proper materials for waterproofing the new metal mechanism within the fountain body; redesigning the lighting for a spectacular evening presentation; and cleaning, pinning with steel, and filling cracks with epoxy to withstand weathering. The stone was tested in inconspicuous areas, and waxed and polished to complete the historic art form’s beautification.