Published: June 22, 2009 10:29 pm      

NIAGARA FALLS: Park’s flowing fountain sets off revitalization ripple

Martha MacAskill would have loved to have seen the fountain come to life in Schoellkopf Park.

She had watched everyday from her window in the nearby Schoellkopf Health Center as the park was restored to its original beauty under the hands of the planners, landscapers and laborers.

Sadly, she didn’t live to see water flow from the petals of the elegant tiered fountain but she was there in memory Monday when the restored Schoellkopf Park was dedicated with a garden party for more than a hundred guests.

Hospital CEO Joseph Ruffolo, speaking at the celebration, told a story of how MacAskill, a next door neighbor and dear friend to his aging father, eventually became a resident of the Schoellkopf Health Center, shortly before his own father took up residence there.

MacAskill gave “a very significant leadership gift to get the project started,” Ruffolo said, and on her 90th birthday wrote all her friends and family and requested they give donations to the project.

“What she wanted most was to see the fountain installed in the middle of the park,” he said.

MacAskill did not live to see the unveiling of the beautiful park, restored to its 1913 glory, but her name was on the long list of area residents, officials and agencies that joined together to make it happen.

Noting that his recently deceased father continued to press him to get the fountain running after MacAskill’s death, Ruffolo said that seeing the park in full bloom with the elegant fountain bubbling, gave the day “a special meaning.”

Mayor Paul Dyster, who issued a special proclamation for the event, said that “the best news here today is that we’re just getting started with the revitalization of this neighborhood.”

He pointed out that construction had just begun across the street for a new circular drive at the Niagara Arts and Cultural Center, “setting us on the path towards restoration of the theater,” inside the arts building.

He listed the numerous events that would continue the enhancement of the area around the hospital, including the resurfacing of the length of Pine Avenue and the nearby portion of Portage Road.

He added that the parking lot at South Junior High would be refinished just in time for the Buffalo Philharmonic’s free concert set for 7 p.m. July 1.

Dyster also talked of the installation of a new playground at the nearby closed junior high school, with fencing designed to “extend the look and feel of this beautiful park.”

In addition, he said there were developers from Oswego interested in installing artist lofts inside the school, and federal funds coming this year for the reconstruction of 10th and Cedar.

Those efforts, will be fortified by the upcoming appointment of a National Urban Fellow who will work to help revitalize health care delivery in Niagara Falls, he said.

“They will insure not only the survival of this great institution but it’s health and prosperity way into the future,” he said, speaking of the hospital.

Among the speakers Monday was Susan Beatrice Schoellkopf, a representative of the family whose generosity has enhanced the city since the day that Jacob Schoellkopf founded the Niagara Falls Hydraulic Power and Manufacturing company in 1878. Susan, daughter of former hospital trustee Paul A. Schoellkopf, was credited, along with her two sisters, Jane Penn Banta and Ann Jewett, of taking an active role in seeing the restoration to completion.

“Our ancestors would be so proud,” Schoellkopf said.

Patricia Berggren of the Memorial Medical Center Foundation summed up the event at the end of the formal presentation when she said, “This park now belongs to the residents of this community.”