San Francisco, CA
The Bono fountain is broken. Is SF too broke to fix it?
A huge concrete fountain that Bono famously graffitied during a free concert at San Francisco’s Embarcadero Plaza in 1987 has been drained after “a major mechanical failure” forced the city to shut the water off.
The last pump that serviced the Vaillancourt Fountain, also known as “Quebec libre!,” failed about two weeks ago, Tamara Aparton, a Recreation and Parks Department spokesperson, told The Standard. Now, the 53-year-old brutalist sculpture must have its mechanical and electrical systems replaced. The cost? Upward of $3 million.
“The fountain systems were extremely antiquated and past the end of their useful life,” Aparton said in an email. “Due to [the] age of the infrastructure, the fountain systems require a full renovation.”
It’s unclear if or when those repairs could happen. Aparton said there was “no timeline.” For now, the department is working with the Arts Commission to install temporary container plants in the fountain.