TYLER DAVIDSON MEMORIAL FOUNTAIN - Cincinnati, Ohio
Posted by: 
BruceS
N 39° 06.083 W 084° 30.770
16S E 715074 N 4330972
Historic fountain in downtown Cincinnati.
Waymark Code: WM3HTP
Location: Ohio, United States
Date Posted: 04/08/2008
Views: 62
From Cincinnati: A Guide to the Queen City:
In the center of the esplanade is the TYLER DAVIDSON MEMORIAL FOUNTAIN, an
ornamental bronze and porphyry work rising in tiers to a height of 43 feet.
The fountain was bought in Munich, German, by Henry Probasco, Cincinnati civic
leader and erected here in 1871 as a memorial to his brother-in-law.
Standing on the highest pedestal is the "Genius of Water," a bronze statue
of a draped woman with arms outstretched in an attitude of invocation.
This 9-foot figure is favored by starling and pigeons in summertime and frequent
cleanings are necessary.
Below the "Genius" are four fanciful, oversized figures ranged around the
fountain's shaft; all dramatize the allegory of water. On the north side
is a workman on a burning housetop imploring the help of water. On the
east a reluctant boy is being led by his smiling mother to the bath. A
farmer prays for rain on the south side and on the west a girl offers a drink of
water to an aged man on crutches.
Mounted on the rim of the attractive green granite basin are four much
smaller figures that serve as ornaments for their attached drinking fountains.
Each presents the tableau of a youth mounted upon an animal, from whose mouth
water is pouring. One lad is riding a turtle; another is stride a dolphin;
a third straddles a large bird; and the remaining figure is a boy struggling
with a snake that has coiled itself around his leg. All are lifelike in
their portrayal of action, and Cincinnatians have affectionately given them
nicknames, such as Turtle Joe.
The fountain and the surrounding area called Fountain Square continue to be
the location of many civic events and one of the more well known locations in
Cincinnati. The fountain was renovated for the first time in 1970,
for its centennial. The fountain was moved and face west rather than west.
In 2005 the entire fountain was moved when Fountain Square was renovated.
Fountain square was reopened October 14, 2006 and now the fountain faces south.
The fountain was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.