This is a history and list of drinking fountains in the United States. A drinking fountain, also called a water fountain or bubbler, is a fountain designed to provide drinking water. It consists of a basin with either continuously running water or a tap. The drinker bends down to the stream of water and swallows water directly from the stream. Drinking water fountains are most commonly found in heavy usage areas like public amenities, schools, airports, and museums.
The first of the drinking fountains in Philadelphia may rank among the earliest in the country. Constructed in 1854, it was explicitly labeled "For the public good", it had respectable neo-classical detailing, and it was privately funded, all of which would set a pattern.[1] It was described in 1884 as:
The first fountain, so called, stands upon the side of the road on the west side of the Wissahickon … It is claimed that this is the first drinking fountain erected in the county of Philadelphia outside of the Fairmount Water-Works. A clear, cold, mountain spring is carried by a spout, covered with a lion's head, from a niche in a granite front, with pilasters and pediment into a marble basin. The construction bears the date 1854 … Upon a slab above the niche are cut the words "Pro bono publico"; beneath the basin these, "Esto perpetua".[2]
In the late 1860s, a mix of progressive organizations and private philanthropists began funding purpose-built, public water fountains. Early examples include the first fountain funded by the new American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in 1867, in Union Square in New York City, and the work of the Philadelphia Fountain Society beginning in April 1869, whose fountains served people, horses, and dogs.[3] Those Philadelphia fountains immediately proved their "utility and absolute necessity;" by September 1869 the Fountain Society had constructed 12, and the newly-founded Pennsylvania branch of the ASPCA had built another five.[4] As of 1880, the Philadelphia Fountain Society alone maintained 50 fountains serving approximately 3 million people and 1 million horses and other animals.[5]
The ASPCA had been founded in 1866 in New York, and spread quickly to active branches in Philadelphia and other cities. One of its concerns was the difficulty of finding fresh water for work horses in urban areas. Combination drinking fountains that provided a bubbler for people and a water trough for horses, and sometimes a lower basin for dogs, became popular. In particular, over 120 National Humane Alliance fountains were donated to communities across the United States between 1903 and 1913. The fountains were the gift of philanthropist Hermon Lee Ensign.
Also working in parallel were various organizations of the Temperance Movement, who advocated abstinence from alcohol, and saw providing free fresh water as an attractive alternative. furthering its cause. The Woman's Christian Temperance Union, founded in 1874, sponsored temperance fountains in towns and cities across the United States.[6] The Sons of Temperance built an elaborate and popular drinking fountain for Philadelphia's 1876 Centennial Exposition, later moved close to Independence Hall, that dispensed ice water.[7] Henry D. Cogswell, a dentist and temperance crusader who made a fortune in San Francisco real estate, sponsored (and designed) dozens of artistic fountains, some of which were adorned with a statue of himself.
One myth claims that drinking fountains were first built in the United States in 1888 by the then-small Kohler Water Works (now Kohler Company) in Kohler, Wisconsin. However, no company by that name existed at the time.[8]
Privately sponsored drinking fountains were often commissioned as works of art. Sculptors such as Karl Bitter, Alexander Stirling Calder, Gutzon Borglum and Daniel Chester French; and architects such as Paul Philippe Cret, Frederick Law Olmsted and Henry Hobson Richardson collaborated on them. These were frequently created as memorials to individuals, serving an ongoing utilitarian purpose as well as an artistic one.
In the United States, segregation of public facilities including but not limited to water fountains due to race, color, religion, or national origin was abolished by the Civil Rights Act of 1964.[9] Prior to this, racially segregated water fountains with those for black people in worse condition than those for white people were common.[10]
| Name | Location | Image | Sculptor | Other designers | Year | Medium | Usage | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lotta's Fountain Lotta Crabtree Fountain | California Market, Geary & Kearny Streets, San Francisco | 1875 | cast iron | For people | The fountain in 1905. Actress Lotta Crabtree donated the fountain. Added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1975. | ||||
| Statue of Benjamin Franklin (San Francisco) Temperance Fountain Cogswell Historical Monument | California Washington Square, San Francisco | Unknown | Henry D. Cogswell | 1879 relocated 1904 | bronze base: granite | For people | Originally located at Market & Kearny Streets. Altered. No longer a fountain. | ||
| Erskine Memorial Fountain | Grant Park, Atlanta | J. Massey Rhind | 1896relocated 1912 | Bronze | For people | Originally located at what is now Hardy Ivy Park | |||
| Connecticut Bridgeport | Gutzon Borglum | 1913 | Mermaid: bronze Basin & 3 horse troughs: granite | For people and horses | Added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1985. | ||||
| National Humane Alliance Fountain | Connecticut Derby Greenway, Derby | 1906 restored 2007 | For people, horses and dogs | More than 120 National Humane Alliance Fountains were installed in communities across the United States between 1903 and 1913. | |||||
| Pope Fountain[11] Albert A. Pope Memorial Fountain | Connecticut Pope Park, Hartford | George W. Keller, architect | 1913 relocated 1964 | For people and horses | Includes a bronze portrait medallion of Albert A. Pope. | ||||
| Dancing Bears Fountain[12] Children's Fountain | Connecticut Center Park, Manchester | Albert Humphreys | Pomponian Bronze Works, foundry | 1909 | For people | ||||
| Carrie Welton Fountain[13] "Horse on The Green" | Connecticut The Green, Waterbury | Karl Gerhardt | 1888 | Horse: bronze Base: granite | For people and horses | ||||
| Woman's Christian Temperance Union Fountain (Rehoboth Beach, Delaware) | Delaware Rehoboth Avenue & Boardwalk, Rehoboth Beach | 1929 | granite | For people | Added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1977. | ||||
| Temperance Fountain (Washington, D.C.) Cogswell Fountain | District of Columbia 7th Street & Indiana Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. | Unknown | Henry D. Cogswell | 1882-84 | Sculptures: bronze Base & canopy: granite | For people and horses | Water flowed from the dolphins' mouths. Added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2007. | ||
| U. S. Capitol Grounds Drinking Fountain | District of Columbia United States Capitol Grounds, Washington, D.C. | Frederick Law Olmsted, architect | 1874 | For people | |||||
| Horse Show Fountain (Wright-Bock Fountain) | Illinois Oak Park | Richard Bock | Frank Lloyd Wright, architect | 1909 replica 1969 | Poured concrete | For people, horses and dogs | The original fountain deteriorated and was used to create a replica. It was erected about 100 ft from the original's site. | ||
| Woman's Christian Temperance Union Fountain (Bloomington, Indiana) | Indiana Monroe County Courthouse, Bloomington | 1913 | For people | ||||||
| Murphy Memorial Drinking Fountain | Indiana Carroll County Courthouse, Delphi | Myra Reynolds Richards | 1918 | Sculpture: bronze Barre granite | For people | Richards posing with her sculpture. | |||
| Woman's Christian Temperance Union Fountain (Shenandoah, Iowa)[14] | 1912 | cast iron | For people, dogs and birds | Added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1984. | |||||
| Ellis Fountain | Kentucky Old Fayette County Courthouse, Lexington | William Ingram | Lexington Granite Company | 1921 | Sculptures: bronze granite | For people and dogs | |||
| Gumbel Memorial Fountain | Louisiana Audubon Park, New Orleans | Isidore Konti | 1918 | For people, horses and dogs | "The Meeting of Air and Water" | ||||
| Lotta Fountain Lotta Crabtree Fountain | Massachusetts The Esplanade, Boston | John W. Ames, architect Edwin Dodge, architect | 1939 | For people, cats and dogs | The fountain was a bequest from actress Lotta Crabtree. | ||||
| Charles Taft Fountain[15] | Massachusetts Cleveland Circle, Brookline | Coolidge & Carleson, architects | 1912 | For people, horses and dogs | |||||
| Holyoke City Hall Fountain Woman's Christian Temperance Union Fountain | Massachusetts Holyoke City Hall Holyoke | 1901 | Monson granite | For people | Constructed in October 1901,[16] dedicated November 9, 1901; contains biblical passages and one from Shakespeare's Othello | ||||
| Kilbon Memorial Fountain[17] | Massachusetts Town Park, Lee | Daniel Chester French | 1899 | For people and horses | Water flows from the mouth of a mask of Konkapot, a Mohican chief. | ||||
| Belcher Memorial Fountain[18] [19] | Massachusetts Northfield Town Hall, 70 Main Street, Northfield | Joseph Walker | Aberdeen Granite Works | 1909 relocated 1960 | Quincy granite Gaslight: cast iron | For people, horses and dogs | |||
| Burnside Fountain | Massachusetts Worcester Common, Worcester | Charles Y. Harvey (completed by Sherry Fry) | Henry Bacon, architect | 1912 | Granite basin, bronze sculpture | For horses and dogs | Harvey's Pan-like figure is nicknamed "Turtle Boy." | ||
| Bagley Memorial Fountain | Michigan Detroit | Henry Hobson Richardson, architect | 1887 | For people | Water flows from the lions' mouths. Added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1971. | ||||
| Merrill Humane Fountain | Michigan Palmer Park, Detroit | Carrere & Hastings, architects | 1901 relocated 1925 | For people, horses and dogs | Merrill Humane Fountain in its original location, c. 1906 | ||||
| Miller Memorial Fountain | Mississippi Commerce & Main Streets, Natchez | 1911 | For people, horses and dogs | ||||||
| American Legion Memorial World War I Memorial | Missouri Swope Park, Kansas City | Merrell Gage | G. B. Franklin, architect Chicago Art Bronze Works, foundry | 1921 | For people | ||||
| Jessie Tennille Maschmeyer Memorial Fountain[20] "Zuni Bird Charmer" | Missouri Outside Bird House, St. Louis Zoo, St. Louis | Walker Hancock | Roman Bronze Works, foundry | 1932 | For people. | The granite plinth features a life-sized bronze figure of a Zuni bird charmer at center and bubbler at each end. | |||
| Cogswell Fountain Temperance Fountain (Tompkins Square Park)[21] | New York Tompkins Square Park, Manhattan, New York City | Bertel Thorvaldsen (copy after) | Henry D. Cogswell J. L. Mott Ironworks | 1888 | For people | Copy of Thorvaldsen's Hebe: | |||
| James Fountain Union Square Drinking Fountain | New York Union Square Park, Manhattan, New York City | Karl Adolph Donndorf | J. Leonard Corning, architect | 1881 | For people and dogs | Donated by Daniel Willis James and Theodore Roosevelt Sr.[22] | |||
| Women's Health Protective Association Fountain | New York Riverside Park at 116th Street, Manhattan, New York City | Bruno Zimm | 1909 | white marble | For people | Commemorates the 25th anniversary of the association's founding.[23] | |||
| Probasco Fountain | Ohio Clifton Avenue, Cincinnati | Samuel Hannaford, architect | 1887 | For people, horses and dogs | Added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. | ||||
| Woodland Cemetery Drinking Fountain | Ohio Woodland Cemetery and Arboretum, Dayton | Karl Bitter | 1908-09 | For people | Added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. | ||||
| Benson Bubbler | Oregon Portland | A. E. Doyle, architect | 1912 | For people | Philanthropist Simon Benson initially installed 20 four-bowl drinking fountains. Portland now features 52 four-bowl Benson Bubblers and 74 single-bowl ones. | ||||
| David Campbell Monument[24] Portland Fireman's Memorial | Oregon 1800 West Burnside Street, Portland | Avard Fairbanks | Paul Cret, architect | 1928 | For people, horses and dogs | An exedra (curved bench) with a drinking fountain at center. It empties into a basin on the opposite side for horses and dogs. | |||
| Charles B. Merrick Memorial Drinking Fountain | Oregon NE Sandy Street, Portland | 1916 | For people | ||||||
| Fountain for Company H Second Oregon Company Volunteers Fountain (Spanish–American War)[25] | Oregon Lownsdale Square, Portland | John H. Beaver | 1914 | limestone & bronze | For people | Located near the Spanish–American War Soldier's Monument | |||
| Pioneer Woman[26] (Joy) Laberee Memorial Fountain | Oregon Council Crest Park, Portland | Frederic Littman | 1956 | Sculpture: bronze Base: granite | For people | ||||
| Portland Central Library Fountain | Oregon 801 SW 10th Avenue, Portland | A. E. Doyle, architect | 1913 | Wilkinson sandstone | For people | Fountain is right of center: | |||
| Shemanski Fountain | Oregon South Park Blocks, Portland | Oliver Laurence Barrett | Carl L. Linde, architect | 1925-26 1928 | For people and dogs | Barrett's figure of "Rebecca at the Well" was added in 1928. | |||
| Skidmore Fountain | Olin Levi Warner | J. M. Wells, architect | 1888 | Top basin & caryatids: bronze Lower basin & horse troughs: granite | For people, horses and dogs | The octagonal basin spills into 4 water troughs for horses and dogs. | |||
| Thompson Fountain | Oregon Plaza Blocks, 4th Avenue & Main Street, Portland | Roland Hinton Perry | H. G. Wright, architect | 1900 | Sculpture: bronze Basin & water troughs: Barre granite | For people, horses and dogs | |||
| Hebe Fountain Woman's Christian Temperance Union Fountain | Oregon Eagles Park, Lane & Jackson Streets, Roseburg | Bertel Thorvaldsen (copy after) | J. L. Mott Ironworks | 1908 2002 (replica) | cast iron | For people, horses and dogs | The original Hebe fountain was damaged in a 1912 accident and removed. The replica fountain, cast from the same molds, was erected in 2002. | ||
| Class of 1892 Fountain[27] "The Scholar and the Football Player" | Pennsylvania Quadrangle Dormitories, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia | Alexander Stirling Calder | Bureau Brothers, foundry | 1900 | For people | ||||
| Annie L. Lowry Memorial Fountain | Pennsylvania Bainbridge Street median strip at 3rd Street Philadelphia | 1910 | For horses and dogs | "Drink Gentle Friends" Erected by the Women's Pennsylvania Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals | |||||
| Mary Rebecca Darby Smith Memorial Fountain Rebecca at the Well | Pennsylvania Horticultural Drive, West Fairmount Park Philadelphia | John J. Boyle | 1908 relocated 1934 | For people Originally, for people, horses and dogs | "Drink, and I will give thy Camels Drink also." Originally installed on the Spring Garden Street median strip at 12th Street. Relocated to West Fairmount Park, 1934. | ||||
| Temperance Fountain (Philadelphia) | Pennsylvania Philadelphia | 1876 Relocated 1877 Removed to storage 1969 | For people | Under a 13-sided gazebo at the 1876 Centennial Exposition. Erected by the Grand Division of the Sons of Temperance. Cost: $2,300 Installed outside Independence Hall, 1877-1969 | |||||
| J. William White Memorial Drinking Fountain | Pennsylvania Rittenhouse Square, Philadelphia | R. Tait McKenzie | 1921 | For people | Portrait medallion of J. William White (1919). | ||||
| Fireman's Drinking Fountain | Pennsylvania Main Street, Slatington | Caspar Buberl | J. W. Fiske & Company | 1909 | Sculpture: zinc Base: cast iron | For people and dogs | Added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1981. | ||
| Sterne Fountain[28] Hebe, Goddess of Youth | Texas Lafayette & Market Streets, Jefferson | Giuseppe Moretti | J. L. Mott, foundry | 1913 | Sculpture: bronze Base: cast iron | For people, horses and dogs | |||
| Pin Oak Fountain[29] | West Virginia WV Rte. 29 & Falconwood Road, Pin Oak | Roy Keister, head mason | 1932 | crystal quartz | For people and horses | 2 basins and a horse trough, fed by gravity from a spring uphill of the fountain | |||
| R. D. Whitehead Monument[30] | Wisconsin 16th & Pearl Streets, Milwaukee | Sigvald Asbjornsen | 1910 | Sculpture: bronze Pier & basin: granite | For horses and dogs | The bas-relief panel depicts Whitehead's horse "George" and dog "Dandy." The watering trough is now used as a planter. |
NOTE: some entries in this table overlap the entries in Drinking fountains in Philadelphia. Neither table is an exhaustive list.
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