Galaxy: Earth Sphere Fountain, Kendall Square - Cambridge, MA
Posted by: 
NorStar
N 42° 21.735 W 071° 05.072
19T E 328342 N 4692102
This fountain, located in a plaza between Main Street and Broadway, has water spurting at the main globe and a series of 'satellite' globes surrounding it.
Waymark Code: WM9HMK
Location: Massachusetts, United States
Date Posted: 08/23/2010
Views: 3
In the Kendall Square section of Cambridge, there is a plaza that is formed from angular intersection of Broadway and Main Street. In this plaza is a striking fountain, named Galaxy: Earth Sphere.
This fountain is roughly 20 feet in diameter and is made likely of stainless steel or aluminum. The central feature of the fountain is a bumpy sphere that has features that, with a little imagination, could be continents and mountains, and flat areas that could be seas or oceans. The sphere is surrounded by two iron or steel pipes at about calf level. The outer one has about 20 nozzles that send streams of water to shower the sphere in all directions. The nearer pipe ring is supposed to let out steam to bath the sphere in mist. Outside of these rings are twelve small spheres in a perfect arrangement around the central sphere, each with a pattern of holes. Around them, at cardinal points are metal plates with fictional symbols in place.
There is a plaque nearby, toward the nearest subway station exit, under some bushes. The fountain was put in place in December 1989. The Halvorson Company, Inc. was the landscape designer/architect of the fountain. The engineering company was Fay, Spofford, and Thorndike. The artists came from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology: Center for Advanced Visual Studies.
According to a newspaper article, the fountain had only recently started flowing again, after 18 months being dry. In short, there had been a flood and a fire in the last two years at the corner of Broadway and Third Street, and the fountain control room had sustained more damage than expected. The article explained that the tie up was mostly due to processing of insurance claims, and the steam does not work due to the unwillingness of the power plant vendor to fix a conduit that is only to the fountain.
But at least the water is running again!
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