San Francisco officials ordered Vaillancourt Fountain on Embarcadero Plaza to be fenced off indefinitely Monday morning after a new report concluded that its crumbling condition poses a public safety risk.
Construction of the fence, scheduled to begin at 7 a.m. Monday and continue throughout the week, cast new doubt on the massive artwork’s future as a major renovation of the plaza gets underway.
The blocky, 710-ton sculpture has been a lightning rod for public opinion for more than a half-century, but it was a draw for parkgoers who darted through its gushing water and for skateboarders who plied its famed stairs and ledges…