Restored Bates Fountain Returns Lincoln Park's Splash Of Whimsy - Chicago, IL
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Metro2
N 41° 55.366 W 087° 38.118
16T E 447322 N 4641396
Restoration to a fountain designed by Augustus Saint-Gaudens and dedicated in 1887.
Waymark Code: WMV7K4
Location: Illinois, United States
Date Posted: 03/09/2017
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On May 17, 1999, the Chicago Tribune (
visit link) ran the following:
"Restored Bates Fountain Returns Lincoln Park's Splash Of Whimsy
May 17, 1999|By Bechetta Jackson, Tribune Staff Writer.
Fifteen-month-old Matthew Spector knew nothing of the four-year, $232,000 struggle to restore Lincoln Park's whimsically playful Bates Fountain.
Sitting on a portion of the marble structure Sunday afternoon, his tiny fingers dangling in the water, Matthew simply liked the new spraying effects of the fountain, located opposite the Lincoln Park Conservatory Garden.
"He doesn't want to leave," said Matthew's father, Howard Spector of Chicago. "He really loves the water. I like the fact that it's so kid friendly."
It wasn't always that way. During the costly rehabilitation, a 4-foot fence kept visitors from getting too close to the historic fountain, designed by Augustus Saint-Gaudens and Frederick William MacMonnies and dedicated in 1887.
During a rededication ceremony Saturday afternoon, Steve Leonard, director of Friends of Lincoln Park, told of the group's battle to restore the fountain.
Funded by Chicago businessman Eli Bates, it features three half-boy, half-fish bronze figures wrestling with large fish as a number of elegantly crafted birds spread their wings. In addition to removing the fence, reeds were replaced and lighting and spraying effects added.
"We're privileged to have this kind of cultural legacy preserved," Leonard said. "It's a showcase piece that should last well into the new millennium.""