That is because the city voted March 1 to approve an element of Measure DD funding that allocates $300,000 to help the fountain restoration.

"Something is really going to happen here," an excited Ratliff said on the steps that line each side of the cascade. "It's not just a dream, it's not just a fantasy."

Friends of the Cleveland Cascade and the city estimate it will cost $600,000 to $900,000 to get the fountain repaired and running again.

The city's initial $300,000 will help see that restoration effort started. Ratliff said he hopes private donors will provide the balance.

Designed by local landscape architect Howard Gilkey and dedicated in 1923, the 250-foot-long ornamental cascade beside Lake Merritt once flowed for several hours a day. Water poured from bowl to bowl starting at the top of the cascade, near Merritt Avenue, to about mid-staircase level.

"I imagine it was a real draw. People would come and hang out and take a look at the cascade, then go on to the lake," volunteer Michael Sasso said.

Today, the cascade is a dry skeleton of what it used to be, and until last year it was mostly covered by dirt and foliage. It lays dormant in the middle of a staircase used by runners.

From what Ratliff and his fellow cascade devotees have uncovered, the fountain has not operated since at least the 1950s.

"What that suggests to us isthat it was probably neglected during the World War II era," he said, pointing to a faded picture from the 1950s that shows an already ruined cascade.

In the picture, the bowls that held and poured the water, the cascade's ornate shells that accented its lighting system, and its lights were all gone.

Yet even in its dilapidated state the cascade still has the charm to attract the hearts and attention of residents and city leaders.

"It's a treasure to many people," said Councilmember Nancy Nadel (West Oakland-Downtown). "It's bringing a lot of people together who haven't worked together before."

Sasso discovered it years ago as he ran Lake Merritt and the cascade stairs as part of his workout routine. He said he always thought it was a shame the fountain had fallen into such disrepair.

"When I first came here, I thought it would be so wonderful if this were to be restored but I thought it would never happen," he said.

Sasso soon found out he was not alone in wanting to see the cascade returned to its original splendor. The idea of restoring the cascade came from an anti-crime committee, sponsored by the Oakland police.

In May 2004, nearly two dozen volunteers spent the afternoon digging the cascade out from under rosemary bushes, dirt and garbage. Some pieces of the original bowls and the shells were recovered during the May cleanup day, considered an "urban excavation" by Friends of the Cleveland Cascade volunteers.

Interest has grown to include nearly 100 volunteers who dedicated time to cleaning up the park. Money and other support has followed.

The friends group has raised about $45,000. Part of that money is a $32,500 grant from the DeLong Sweet foundation. The organization has promised another $32,500 matching grant.

Ratliff said the group would like to find the money to pay for restoration plans and then use the council's promised $300,000 on the actual physical remodeling. The group is $20,000 away from matching the DeLong Sweet grant.

To contact Friends of the Cleveland Cascade, call 903-9216 or visit www.clevelandcascade.org.

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