V. Fontana Adds Chairs to Seat of Learnings

International Trade Publication

 

V. Fontana & Company of Colma, California, has completed a pair of granite memorial chairs for the University of California in Berkeley, according to Mark Fontana, Director. Commissioned by the Universtiy, one chair is dedicated to Dr. Robert Sproul, who served as president of the University from 1930 to 1958, and the other is dedicated to those from the University who died in the service of their country.

The chairs were cut from a single seven ton block of native California Sierra White granite, and required approximately six months and 400 man hours of labor to construct. They were fabricated entirely in Fontana's manufacturing plant, their intricate carving done by personnel using special diamond tools and silicon carbide abrasives. Each chair weighs about one ton, and stands four feet tall and three feet wide.

The chairs, which will be placed in the Berkeley Greek Theater, are part of a series of chairs all dedicated to individuals or groups. Most were constructed of Tennessee marble, the last one more than 50 years ago, and many of the old ones are deteriorating. This, says Fontana, is the reason why the University ordered the new chairs to be made of granite. They will be formally dedicated this month.