{"nrhp_refnum":"82001381","name":"Boy with the Boot Fountain","other_names":[],"category":"object","location":{"address":"W. Washington St. Park","address_restricted":false,"city":"Sandusky","county":"Erie County","state":"OH","lat":41.454404785000065,"lon":-82.71280184599993,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1982-10-20","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A painted metal fountain statue of a small boy holding up a boot, set in Washington Park in front of the Erie County Courthouse in Sandusky, Ohio. It was imported from Germany and installed in 1895.","why_significant":"The statue has become a symbol of Sandusky and has been reproduced on plates, needlework and small statues. It was a bequest to the city by hotel owner Voltaire Scott, who imported it from Baden, Germany. A reviewer noted it could also be significant as a civic symbol but that the form does not say where it became one.","narrative":"A small painted metal figure of a boy holding a boot aloft stands in Washington Park, in front of the Erie County Courthouse in Sandusky. The boy wears a cap, simple shirt and trousers, with one pant leg rolled up, one hand at his pocket and the other raising a boot from his bare foot. Water pours from a hole in the boot's toe. Hotel owner Voltaire Scott imported the statue from Baden, Germany, in 1895 for a small park near his Water Street hotel, and he left it to the city in his will. A tornado destroyed its original setting in 1924, and the statue was stored until 1935, when it was placed on the present tufa rock and cement base. It is listed because it has become a recognised symbol of Sandusky, reproduced on plates, needlework and small statues. The park itself was platted as the town square in 1818.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"Sits on a tufa rock and cement base added in 1935 after a 1924 tornado destroyed its original setting; the form lists it as moved and not endangered.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:53:14.21203-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_OH/82001381.pdf"},"photo":null,"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71984858","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":null},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/ohio/erie-county/boy-with-the-boot-fountain-82001381/"}