Vandals break KU fountain

The Alumni Place Fountain on the University of Kansas campus is pictured at left, Monday, Nov. 7, 2016. The fountain was reportedly vandalized and broken sometime over the weekend, according to KU police. The fountain, located partway down the hill behind Miller and Watkins scholarship halls, is pictured at right in a 2014 Journal-World file photo.

A fountain on the University of Kansas campus was broken over the weekend, apparently by vandals.

The Alumni Place Fountain is the centerpiece of a quiet, tucked-away terrace just down the hill behind Watkins and Miller scholarship halls.

It features a circular pool with a two-tiered fountain in the center. The top tier, a round decorative pedestal basin, is now toppled and broken.

A passerby reported the vandalism to KU police on Sunday, said Deputy Chief James Anguiano of the KU Office of Public Safety. According to the report, the vandalism occurred between Friday and Sunday, and the damage was estimated to be at least $1,000.

The Alumni Place Fountain was first purchased in 1953 at the suggestion of then-Chancellor Franklin Murphy and paid for with $1,300 in private funds, according to the KU buildings directory. By 1981 the fountain had deteriorated seriously enough that it had to be replaced, and an exact replica was made by the Erkins Studio in New York, the same company that made the original fountain.

Anyone with information about the incident can share it with KU police by calling 864-5900 or, to remain anonymous, call 864-8888.

The university will replace the broken piece of the fountain, KU spokeswoman Erinn Barcomb-Peterson said.