City Parks Blog » fountains

City Park Fountains and the Need for Maintenance

Ben Welle — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 14:59:38 +0000

The New York Times had a nice piece the other day on the city’s 50 plus fountains. If there is any quintessential park design feature, it may be the fountain. They were included in earlier plazas (think Rome), the larger parks of the 1800s such as Central Park and all of its cousins acro0ss the country, and they appear in variations today in features such as the “spraypad,” a hybrid of a fountain and a playground.

For city parks to be successful, they need great water features. Yet it takes money to maintain them, and neglecting such facilities can make a real negative impression on visitors and residents. (For instance, the water fountain in Washington, D.C.’s Columbus Circle, just in front of Union Station underwhelms despite its placement in front of one of the nation’s busiest transport hubs.) Instead of investing in large sports complexes and convention centers, smaller and more sustained investment in the public realm of a city can go a long way in creating an environment pleasurable to residents and visitors alike.

And as the Times article points out, things like fountains do not pay for themselves, quoting a parks department official who noted that that his crews retrieved little money — “The homeless people go in there at night and do the job for us.”

Best Free Show in Town? Denver’s City Park Fountain

Ben Welle — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 11:02:03 +0000

City Park, Denver Post, Karl Gehring

What is a prismatic electric fountain? It is the dancing, colorfully lighted fountain of Denver’s 317-acre City Park. An article in the Denver Post describes the fountain of the city’s biggest park, which can be seen for free at dusk each night this summer.

After many years in disrepair, the fountain was restored by the city and private donors at a cost of $3.2 million. The restored fountain was dedicated in August a little more than 100 years after the original fountain was completed before the 1908 Democratic National Convention in Denver. The original display, called the Prismatic Electric Fountain, was the work of legendary engineer Frederic Darlington. Denver is the only location with a Darlington Electric Fountain to recreate the work with a modern — but historically accurate — version, according to the city. The new fountain features the original 12 water displays enjoyed by Denverites a century ago.

Pretty cool.

Making Use of Fountains in Winter

Ben Welle — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 17:36:47 +0000

Fountains are great in the summer, but when they’re drained for the winter, their empty appearance can make a park feel unattractive and unwelcoming to users. But just because the fountain isn’t running doesn’t mean the park has to stop running as well. In fact, fountains can be adorned with decorations and lights to make them even more attractive than they are in the warmer months. In New York, the city has worked with private groups to dress up empty fountains:

Parks and private donors have joined to beautify public fountains during the holiday season by beautifying the features during their winter hibernation. Parks across the city have benefitted from holiday–themed displays featuring a selection of winter plants, including red dogwood, juniper, boxwood, spruce, white birch, yew trees, holly, juniper, and winter berries. In addition, school groups create ornaments that hang from the display. Fountains in the program include the historic Jacob Wrey Mould Fountain in City Hall Park, Joyce Kilmer Park’s fountain opposite the Bronx Borough Hall, the Columbus Park fountain in downtown Brooklyn, and the Court Square fountain in Long Island City, Queens.

Parks need not go into winter hibernation — and by beautifying them in winter it makes the holiday season in the city a pleasant one. (The NYC Parks Dept. website has a longer and interesting history on New York City’s parks during the holidays.)