John F. Drescher Fountain, aka Granite Ball, University of Colorado - Boulder, CO - Abstract Public Sculptures on Waymarking.com

"A granite ball sitting on a table in the Engineering Center at the University of Colorado at Boulder. Leading up to the piece is the quote by Marcel Proust "The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes". " (from (visit link) ) The sculpture is entitled the John F. Drescher Fountain. The ball was made by Josef Kusser in Germany.

"John F. "Johnny" Drescher was born January 10th, 1911 in Denver, Colorado. He graduated in 1932 from the University of Colorado at Boulder with special honors in electrical engineering.

Johnny moved to Santa Monica in 1938, working as a pilot and aircraft design engineer. During World War II he became a consultant for the War Department, developing an important bomb release mechanism. He held nine patents related to his World War II design work and by 1944 had established his own company, Drescher Engineering, in Santa Monica. During the 1950's and '60's his business prospered and the value of his company's property skyrocketed.

A generous millionaire with a modest lifestyle and many friends, Johnny had a long record of community service through the Kiwanis Club, Salvation Army, Red Cross, the YMCA Child Development Center, the Santa Monica-UCLA Medical Center, Pepperdine University and Santa Monica College. Johnny also created a six acre artisans' haven known as "Drescherville" in Santa Monica where he lived a simple life with a pet parakeet and an adopted rat.

In 1996 Johnny donated $530,000 to SMC to help upgrade its rebuilt planetarium with a state-of-the-art Evans & Sutherland Digistar projection system, the first of its kind in California. The Drescher Planetarium, named in Johnny's honor, opened on June 6th, 1997.

John Drescher died in Santa Monica on February 8th, 2000 at the age of 89." (excerpted from (visit link) )

Title: John F. Drescher Fountain, aka Granite Ball Artist: Unknown Media (materials) used: Granite and slate Location (specific park, transit center, library, etc.): Engineering Building Date of creation or placement: Unknown

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