By Nolan Duncan, The Herald Dispatch
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — Marshall University’s Memorial Fountain has been nominated to be added to the National Register of Historic Places.
The nomination was announced Thursday morning at the fountain.
It was created through the work of Cody Straley, an alumnus of Marshall and a structural historian for the West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture, and History.
Growing up close to the site of the 1970 plane crash that claimed the lives of 75 members, staff and supporters of the school’s football team, Straley said the tragedy had always been a topic that interested him.
Straley, who graduated with his master’s in history in 2021, said writing the application for nomination was his way of giving back to Marshall.
The Memorial Fountain was dedicated in 1972 and was created by Italian immigrant Harry Bertoia. Straley said through his research he believed an alternative plan for the fountain was to create a herd of buffalo; however, the architect who designed the Memorial Student Center recommended Bertoia.
