Buckingham Fountain
From Towrs
Contents |
Statistics
- Designed by: Bennett, Parsons, and Frost with Jacques Lambert
- Sculptures by: Marcel Francois Loyau
- Type: Monument
- Stories above ground: 1
- Stories below ground: 2
- The fountain holds 1,500,000 gallons of water. [1]
- The nozzles shoot out 15,000 gallons of water per minute. [1]
- The fountain has 850 lights.
- Address: Columbus Drive, Chicago, Illinois 60605
Description
It is often said that Grant Park is Chicago's front yard. If that is true, then this is one heck of a lawn ornament. The fountain stands proudly near the center of the park, but slightly closer to the chilly waters of Lake Michigan than the heat of the city behind it.
Buckingham fountain is a veritable menagerie of fantastic bronze sea creatures, many of which participate in the shooting, rushing, whooshing play of water jets around the base. In fact, the fountain has several different water show configurations that change at various times of the year. Its most famous form is when the central nozzle sends a single massive jet of water shooting straight into the air, in a display that rivals the skyscrapers surrounding the area.
Timeline
- August 26, 1927 - The fountain is dedicated.
- September 27, 2007 - The cable television channel Showtime pays $11,000 to have the fountain illuminated in red as part of a promotion for a new TV series.
- February, 2008 - A plan is announced to close the fountain in the Fall and Winter of 2008 for a $25 million renovation.
Trivia
- This fountain was featured in the title scene of the television series Married With Children.
- The fountain is controlled by a Honeywell computer underneath it.
- At one time the fountain was controlled remotely by a computer in Atlanta, Georgia.
- The fountain still uses its original pumps and motors.
