Fontaine de Tourny
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Fontaine de Tourny in front of the Parliament Building
This fountain spent over a century in France before becoming a Québec City landmark. It was originally created by French sculptor Mathurin Moreau and received a gold medal at the 1855 Paris World's Fair. From 1857 to 1960, it adorned a broad avenue known as the Allées de Tourny in downtown Bordeaux (which happens to be one of Québec's twin cities). In 1960, the City of Bordeaux removed it, citing maintenance costs. It was safely stored away until the turn of the 21st century when it was purchased by a Paris antiques dealer. |
Peter Simons discovered the fountain during a visit to the Saint-Ouen
flea market in the spring of 2003. At the time, he was nursing the idea of
a major gift to the people of Québec City in recognition of their support
for his retail fashion business (first established in the Old City in
1840). He had the work moved to Québec where it was stored in a barn on Île
d'Orléans for restoration.
It cost Commission de la capitale nationale du Québec and the City of Québec close to $2 million to prepare the site and install and illuminate the fountain. La Maison Simons covered the cost of purchasing, shipping, restoring, and assembling the fountain, which came to nearly $4 million. |
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Fontaine de Tourny Price Building in the background June 2014 Photo 101 |
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Fontaine de Tourny
June 2014 Photo 102 |
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