It’s taken vandals only seconds to set back six months worth of restoration on a historic fountain in the Halifax Public Gardens.
The scaffolding came off the Jubilee fountain, which dates back to 1897, just yesterday.
It was vandalized Monday night.
Cruise ship passengers visiting the gardens were shocked to find out damage was done as soon as the scaffolding came down.
“That is sad, that part,” says one passenger. “I didn’t know that part. Hopefully they can find out who did such a terrible thing and make it whole again.”
The incident is just the latest in a string of vandalism in the park. A century old statue of the Goddess Diana was smashed by vandals back in March. The 138-year-old artwork will never be displayed in the Public Gardens again.
Tour guide Harry Savele says it’s sad things have come to this.
“All the work that has gone into this, either by the local societies, or the volunteers and the work that goes into putting sites like this back together, it’s a shame,” says Savele.
The damage is particularly frustrating for city officials after months of restoration work.
“It was pretty upsetting,” fountain project manager Scott Smith tells CTV News. “I arrived here at about 8:30 this morning. Some workers were working on the lower bowl here and we noticed that a few pieces are missing.”
Smith and the other workers say they don’t care who took the pieces, they just want them back before the city’s Nocturne Festival this weekend.
With files from CTV Atlantic’s Ron Shaw
