Cranes and heavy equipment will be hoisting the maidens of the Fountain of the Four Seasons into their places in front of the Memorial Union today, ending a two-year hiatus for the ISU landmark.

The four Native American women will be placed around the perimeter of the fountain by a crew from Conservation Technical Associates of Westport, Conn.

Workers will then mortar the fountain’s terra cotta, or baked clay, ring, a process that will take two days, according to a university press release.

The fountain will be filled with running water in less than a month.

“People will get a glimpse of the maidens this week, but water will not be running through the fountain until the water filtration and softening system is put in, which will be finished before Veishea,” said Marilyn Vaughan, communications specialist for University Museums.

The sculptures were damaged by rusty pipes, which left a build-up of salt, mineral deposits and bacterial growth, Vaughan said.

While the maidens were on the East Coast, new stainless steel pipes were installed in the fountain to prevent deposits from forming again.

The four maidens were removed in May 1996 and sent to Westport to soak for nearly two years in a restorative bath, Vaughan said.

Conservation Technical Associates had done several projects like this, including restorations for the U.S. Capitol.

The conservators chose to use chemicals to remove the deposits because it was the safest method and the least likely to damage the limestone, said Lynette Pohlman, director of University Museums, who oversees conservation of campus works of art.

The ISU classes of 1946, 1947, 1948 and 1998 are helping to finance the $250,000 project.

“We are happy to see that this is important not only to past generations but this one as well,” Vaughan said.

Christian Petersen, sculptor-in-residence at ISU from 1934 until 1955, created the maidens.

The Osage women represent the four seasons and the relationship of the earth’s fertility to human life, according to a press release.

“Over the years, students have come to see the maidens as symbolic of their four years of undergraduate education,” Pohlman said.

The fountain will be re-dedicated Saturday, June 6 at 2 p.m. as part of Alumni Days.

Petersen also has 11 other major public works of art located around the ISU’s campus.

Some of his more well-known pieces of work include The Gentle Doctor in the Scheman Building, the Veterinary Medicine Mural at the Veterinary Medicine Complex and statues of male and female college students in Parks Library.