March 24, 2020 | Greetings from Friends of the Fountain and Walk

Friends and neighbors:

Just a note to say we hope you are doing well and staying safe and healthy during this ongoing health crisis.

Our community has been through numerous challenges since the Fountain at The Circle was first installed in 1911: two world wars, a Great Depression and recession, a global flu pandemic, the upheaval of the 1960s to name a few. But we have survived and persisted, and pulled together when necessary to help ensure a future for all of us.

The fountain and Fountain Walk today are a result of our community coming together to make our city better. They are concrete reminders of a community’s can-do spirit: resurrecting and restoring important parts of Berkeley’s unique history.

The fountain flows today thanks to that spirit, and we hope it will continue to flow and serve as a landmark of our common interests for generations to come. We are glad that its grizzly bear cubs can face the world sans facemasks and gloves, and make us all feel just a little bit better that even in a crisis, some things can be counted on.

Please stay safe and help others do the same until we can all be as free-flowing as the Fountain at The Circle again.

— Board of Directors, Friends of the Fountain and Walk