Pittsburgh will be missing its longtime exclamation point this year and next.

The iconic 35-year-old fountain in Point State Park, featured in photos and city promotional posters, won't be squirting water high into the air this summer because of electrical problems and will be shut down completely next summer as it undergoes a full makeover.

The fountain has been off as usual through the winter but hasn't been turned on yet this spring. For the coming summer months, the fountain will be squirting only the low, arching "peacock sprays" around its perimeter but not its tall central column of water.

"We know that Pittsburghers see the fountain as symbolic of their city and we ask for their patience through the next two years," said John Quigley, state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources acting secretary. "Once the renovations are complete, the water feature will be even more spectacular."

During the ongoing renovation of the 36-acre park located where the Monongahela and Allegheny rivers join to form the Ohio River, some park facilities have been experiencing problems with their power supply. Two separate engineering firms reviewed the issues and recommended that the fountain's operations be limited to avoid problems.

"It's an aging [power] system there," said Christina Novak, a DCNR spokeswoman. "They've had issues with the lights flickering at the Fort Pitt Museum and with the power supply to the fountain. To prevent some major problem there we're not going to operate the fountain at full force."

Point State Park is undergoing a $30 million improvement in several phases. The first phase, begun in the fall of 2006 and completed in spring of 2008, included a new lawn area on the city side of the park and related improvements. This spring, contractors planted 7,000 native shrubs and trees in the area known as the Woodlands.

The next phase will upgrade the Monongahela and Allegheny promenades along the wharfs to include water landings and marine tie ups, and install new features that interpret the history, indigenous cultures and natural resources of the park.

Lisa Schroeder, executive director of Riverlife, one of DCNR's partner organizations for the park renovations, said bids for that phase were submitted last week and construction will take place this summer.

She said design and engineering work for the last two park renovation phases, a connector along the Mon River Wharf to the Great Allegheny Passage bicycling-hiking trail and the overhaul of the fountain, is under way and should be finished by the end of the year. Construction should occur next summer, Ms. Schroeder said, and all the work is on schedule.