NY Village’s Iconic ‘Bear Fountain’ Repaired, Reinstalled

GENESEO, N.Y. (AP) — A landmark fountain that has been a fixture in the middle of a western New York college town is being reinstalled after it was damaged by a vehicle more than a year ago.

Crews began installing the restored "bear fountain" Wednesday morning on Main Street in Geneseo, home to a state college. The fountain includes a granite basin and a bronze sculpture of a bear atop a light pole.

Both the nearly 130-year-old fountain and the bear statue were damaged when a delivery truck hit the structure in April 1880. They were removed so restoration work could be conducted.

The fountain, dedicated in 1888, has been a local icon for generations of students at the State University of New York at Geneseo.