The Drexel Monument Fountain - Chicago, IL - Fountains on Waymarking.com

Drexel is standing with his proper right hand resting on a tree stump and his proper left hand on his left hip. One of the earliest monuments in the city, this elaborate tiered fountain stands in the center of a large concrete pool placed on a small strip of parkway surrounded by heavily trafficked boulevards

From Chicago Sculpture, Riedy,1981
"The oldest fountain in Chicago is the Drexel Fountain. In the 1880s its site was considered “one of the choicest to be found anywhere near the city.” Its multitiered construction includes four relief panels, a single highly sculptured figure in each, that ornament the base of the shaft. In one panel the Roman sea god Neptune ceremoniously riding a dolphin symbolizes the world’s oceans. The other three panels continue the water theme. Paying tribute to springs, lakes, and rivers, they are closely related in languorous mood and pastoral setting. One has a maiden with goblet in hand at a spring outflowing from a rock, the second a maiden picking flowers at water’s edge, and the third a boy fishing.

Sculptor Henry Manger turned all his figures, with the exception of Neptune, to an angle of about 45° to avoid the loss of depth that results from arranging everything parallel with the picture plane. The consequence is that neither shoulders nor feet are severely foreshortened. Such oblique views also show more of the subject than would a profile or frontal view. While, curiously, less depth has been given to the sea god, the heads and arms of the other three figures have the full three-dimensionality of sculpture in the round. The natural forms— a wave in one instance, rock formations and turf in the others—projecting from the lower portion of the panels create a realistic spatial setting and a naturalistic platform for the figures. The backgrounds are featureless plane surfaces.

Topping the fountain is a statue of Austrian-born Francis Martin Drexel (1792—1863). Drexel arrived in Philadelphia in 1817, where he remained for nearly a decade, painting portraits and offering instruction in art. Then he set sail for South America. By 1837 he seems to have learned the nature and importance of banking and exchange and to have concluded that his artistic talent was not extraordinary. He thus decided to open a brokerage office in Louisville, Kentucky. The following year he established the brokerage office in Philadelphia that ultimately grew into the world-famous house of Drexel and Company.

Through foreclosure he acquired an 80-acre tract in Chicago extending from 47th to 51st streets east of Cottage Grove Avenue, including what was to become Drexel Boulevard. Drexel’s two sons wrote in a letter to the South Park Commission that they would present to the commission a memorial fountain in appreciation “of the testimonial to his [Drexel’s] memory you have ordered by giving his name to one of the noble avenues of Chicago.”"

From Chicago’s Public Sculpture, Bach & Gray, 1983
"The sculptor, Henry Manger, was born in Germany but immigrated to Philadelphia, where this statue was cast. His statues honoring the German poets Goethe and Schiller stand today in Philadelphia's Fairmont Park."

Once called the gem of the Chicago boulevard system, Drexel Boulevard was one of the most celebrated avenues in America. Modeled after Avenue I'Lmperatrice in Paris, France, a magnificent bronze statue of Francis M. Drexel, the founder of the Drexel banking firm, stood at the entrance of the boulevard. It had a central walk for pedestrians with winding picturesque gardens. Ironically, it is unlikely that Drexel ever actually visited Chicago!

It is unclear if the fountain actually works, which will required a summertime visit to determine. UPDATE 6/16/10 - IT WORKS.

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