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Faun Fountain's Mythological Magic is Returning to Agua Caliente, Tijuana
July/August 2017
By Maria E Curry
 Original faun. Courtesy of Francisco Esparza |
 Teachers from the high school alongside the fountain, circa 1965. Courtesy Francisco Ruiz Esparza |
 1952 photo of student with the faun (public domain photo). |
 Current view of fountain. Photo by Maria Curry
|  Tiles from faun fountain. Photo by Maria Curry |
 Using records of the sculpture, some of its elaborate detail is recreated in silicon rubber. Photo by Julio Blanco |
Members of the Sociedad de Historia de Tijuana (Tijuana Historical Society) and teachers and alumni of the federal high school Lázaro Cárdenas, built on the site of the famous Casino of Agua Caliente, are promoting preservation of what remains of the resort. The historical reconstruction of the faun fountain is the pilot project for broader plans. The initial goal is to make the fountain work again, to acquire replica tile pieces to replace those that are missing, and to install a filter and pumping system.
The faun fountain is one of the few remnants of the international tourist mecca designed by Wayne and Corrine McAllister in 1928. Agua Caliente attracted many Americans, including Hollywood celebrities, during Prohibition, where they were free to gamble, enjoy alcohol, and relax. Its hotel included 52 rooms and 33 bungalows in the California Mission style with Asian influences.
The fountain is located at the former entrance to the spa and bathhouse, next to the swimming pool. Abandonment, the demolition of original buildings through the years, and vandalism caused major deterioration to this sculptural landmark. The casino was closed in 1937 when President Lázaro Cárdenas ended gambling in Mexico. Then the complex became five schools, from elementary to high school.
The faun represents Pan, a mythological Greek god, half human and half goat. Its mythical story unfolded in the famous Gold Saloon in the Casino: Mural paintings in oil decorated the walls and golden medallions with fauns and nymphs enlivened the cornices. The bathrooms, showers and bathtubs in the swimming area featured drawings and sculptures.
At the school, the human-size sculpture of the faun was popular with students for group photos. Some former students report hearing flute music (or imagine they did) while walking nearby.
To raise the necessary funds for the preservation work, a new foundation is promoting the sale of 5,000 bonds at 100 pesos each (about $5 US). The foundation includes retired high school teachers Enrique Briseño, Lilia Delgadillo, Flavio Ramos, and historian Gabriel Rivera. The initial preservation cost is estimated at 500,000 pesos ($25,000 US), which covers detailed drawings, photographic documentation, historical and archival research, a site survey, sample tests of original materials and proposals for their replacement, plumbing for the fountain, and acquisition of a hundred tiles.
An interdisciplinary team, which includes architecture students from Universidad Iberoamericana, an archeologist, a photographer, a topographer, and a visual artist, has been working on this project since last year.
Today's project has more professional preservation support.
This project is being conducted with professional preservation support, unlike earlier work on the swimming pool and the structure known as the minaret (actually a chimney). The minaret was altered in 2001 in a restoration effort that had some unfortunate failures. Read about this in SOHO's Reflections newsletter from 2001, issue 3. (https://www.sohosandiego.org/reflections/2001-3/threatagua.htm) The same thing happened with the swimming pool in 2006.
The project team is gathering information from archives and old photographs, with the support of historians. An artist is making drawings to replicate the faun figure, while another with experience in sculpture restoration in Baja California will reconstruct the faun. The replica tiles for the fountain will be made in Rosarito, Mexico. A photographer is documenting the entire project.
The team also plans to add a museum in the future to keep original objects, photographs, and documents from Agua Caliente Casino and resort.
For more information on this project or to contribute funds or artifacts, please contact Flavio Ramos at 011-52-664-681-49-81.
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