Propylaea is a sculpture/fountain on the Maumee River, in downtown Toledo, Ohio.

About

In the early 1980s, Owens-Illinois was building their new world headquarters at One SeaGate. As a gift to the city, the company commissioned Dimitri Hadzi to design a sculpture to stand as the centerpiece of the SeaGate complex. The sculpture is made from granite, and is nestled as a fountain on a reflecting pond between One and Two SeaGate. Dimitri Hadzi described the use of water in the sculpture as a way of creating activity in the flat lands of Ohio.

Dedication

Next to the sculpture there is a dedication which reads: PROPYLAEA 1980–82 DIMITRI HADZI, SCULPTOR AMERICAN B. 1921 THIS GRANITE SCULPTURE NAMED FROM THE GREEK WORD FOR "GATEWAY," WAS COMMISSIONED BY OWENS-ILLINOIS TO STAND AS A SYMBOLIC ENTRANCE TO SEAGATE AND A REVITALIZED TOLEDO. HISTORICALLY, TOLEDO HAS BEEN A GATEWAY TO EXPLORATION, INVENTION TRANSPORTATION AND INDUSTRY THAT HAS HELPED TO FORGE OUR NATION, AND THE PROMISE OF ITS FUTURE IS TYPIFIED IN SEAGATE.