Vaillancourt Fountain Dedication Ceremony

KPIX-TV news footage from April 21, 1971, with reporter Ben Williams and camera operator Steve Paszty, featuring scenes from Embarcadero Plaza in San Francisco, where the controversial Vaillancourt Fountain is being formally dedicated. Includes views of crowds watching a band, listening to speeches and witnessing the fountain's designer Québécois sculptor and painter Armand Vaillancourt painting grafitti on his own work ("Quebec Libre"), before being escorted away by police. There are also views of the Head of San Francisco's Redevelopment Agency Justin Herman introducing speakers and an interview with Vaillancourt, who explains the meaning of his seemingly quixotic actions. Williams predicts that: "The controversy that now surrounds San Francisco's newest landmark, will be with us for years." Opening graphic designed by Carrie Hawks. This 16mm color reversal film print was scanned in 4K (4096 x 2970) using a Lasergraphics ScanStation film scanner, in February 2026.