Upon his death in 1910, Detroiter James Scott bequeathed $500,000 to his hometown for the construction of a fountain in his honor on Belle Isle, a city-owned park in the Detroit River.

It's safe to say that Scott himself was the only person who felt he deserved to be memorialized by a fountain. Scott had the reputation among his contemporaries as a loafer and a gambler. One story said he spent $20,000 on a sham house that looked elegant from one view, but had a high wall on one side to block the view of a neighbor he didn't like. But he was wealthy from inherited money - and when Scott died, he decided to have the last laugh on Detroit by leaving city fathers the money to build a memorial to himself: a man few liked or admired.

The city eventually used Scott's money to have a majestic, artistic fountain built, and it was completed in 1925. Over the years, the fountain has had a minimum of maintenance, but due to good work by the original craftsmen, the fountain still looks great today. Now, work is wrapping up on the first significant revitalization of the fountain's masonry.

"The fountain is in really good shape," said project foreman Tim Levely of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers Local 1. "God knows how many millions of gallons of water have flowed over this fountain, and it looks like the original joints are still in place. It has held up really well."

Masonry contractor Chezcore is acting as general contractor on the project, which began earlier this spring. A crew of six masons from Chezcore have been grinding out and replacing every white mortar seam on the fountain They're also installing a new urethane deck coat, welding and patching a lead liner inside the fountain's bowl, using some urethane caulk here and there, performing some surface cleaning, as well as taking the grime and oxidation off of several decorative brass water-spouting turtles.

Local 58 electricians from Expo Electric and plumbers from John E. Green are also revamping the fountain's three pumps and associated wiring. MBM Fabricators is performing work on the fountain's lead liners.

The outer pool has a diameter of 112 feet, and is lined with Pewabic Pottery tiles. The fountain probably has its share of leaks, Levely said, although the water has been shut off during the repair process. Work is expected to wrap up before Memorial Day.

According to the Friends of Belle Isle, the fountain is constructed of Vermont White Marble and has 109 water outlets in the shape of human heads, dolphins, turtles, lionesses and animal horns. Only students of antiquity can figure out the meaning of some of the figures represented on the fountain.

"I don't know what half this stuff means, but the stone work is fantastic," Levely said.

Some art work is in the form of statues, others are carved into panels on the fountain. A male mermaid ties off a ship's anchor. Angels ride on dolphins. There is a ram with wings. There are figures of pioneers, loggers and Native Americans.

The masons said there isn't anything particularly difficult about repairing the fountain. The mortar joints are mostly easy to access and everything is out in the open. The only problem: the fountain was built for the flow of water, not trades people, so there aren't any stairs to make it easier to go from place to place.

Just as water has softened the edges of the fountain, it took a little more than a decade before the memory of the deceased Scott softened, and the city's leaders decided to stop looking at the gift horse in the mouth. The city decided to go ahead with the fountain, as well as a life-sized statue of Scott seated nearby. As recorded in the Detroit News, then-Mayor Philip Breitmeyer said, "I don't believe the city has a right to insult any of her citizens by refusing a gift for such a good cause."

The masons renovating the fountain expressed overwhelming admiration for the fountain, and its works of art. "Isn't this stuff great?" asked mason Mike Hamblin. "It's a shame there isn't more of this around, I really enjoy working on it."

Following is a description of the Scott Fountain, from the Free Press' Detroit Almanac:

"Landowner James Scott left $500,000 to the City of Detroit to build a lavish fountain on Belle Isle featuring a life-sized statue of himself. This was in 1910, when $500,000 would buy more than a utility infielder. But it would be a while before the fountain spit water. Scott was so reviled that many prominent citizens campaigned against taking the money. A boor, a bore and a bully, Scott was known for telling long, loud and profane tales of his days as a roving gambler. The ever-so-distinguished J.L. Hudson growled that the fountain "would be a monument to nastiness and filthy stories. Mr. Scott never did anything for Detroit in his lifetime." The debate raged for years until the fountain was finally dedicated on May 30, 1925."

JAMES SCOTT's life-size statue seemingly lords over his namesake fountain on Belle Isle in Detroit. Scott bequeathed the money to erect the fountain, but he was such a reviled figure in his day that it took 15 years after his death in 1910 to approve and complete the structure. More than 80 years after it was completed, the fountain is undergoing its first significant restoration.

TUCK-POINTING A JOINT in the Scott Fountain marble is Mike Hamblin of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers Local 1, working for Chezcore.