Here's why the J.C. Nichols fountain at the Plaza wasn't flowing, till now

Its horses definitely needed a bath.

After two weeks of running dry, The J.C. Nichols Memorial Fountain on the eastern edge of the Country Club Plaza is back up and flowing, just in time for Memorial Day and June weddings photos.

A busted water line flooded the fountain's pump room, damaging pumps and other equipment, said Heidi Markle, spokeswoman for the Kansas City Park and Recreation Department.

Repairs cost about $20,000. The fountain was turned back on Wednesday.

The parks department ranks the fountain as the most photographed of all its city fountains. Sculpted by Henri Greber in 1910, the fountain decorated the mansion grounds of Clarence Mackay in Long Island, N.Y., before being purchased by the Nichols family in 1951 and installed and dedicated on the edge of the Plaza in 1960.

The fountain's four horsemen are said to represent the planet's four mightiest rivers: the Seine, the Rhine, the Volga River, with a bear, and the Mississippi River, with the horseman fending off an alligator.

The fountain was refurbished in 2014 and rededicated in April 2015 with the Nichols family foundations picking up most of the $350,000 tab.

This story was originally published May 23, 2018 at 1:33 PM with the headline "Here's why the J.C. Nichols fountain at the Plaza wasn't flowing, till now."