Fountain Art

On the walk between my hotel and my meetings in Houston this week, there is one of these timed fountains. Maybe it’s because I live in fountain-deprived Columbus, but I find it to be fascinating and beautiful. Not in an overpowering, Las Vegas fountain performance to the sounds of Mannheim Steamroller kind of way, but rather for the simplicity of the arcs traced in the air by the controlled bursts of the water.

It makes me wish that Columbus were more like Rome, and that there were more fountains in the world. I’ll take a fountain over a rusting piece of generic abstract art on a corporate plaza any day.

That Wonderful Start-Of-A-Three-Day-Weekend Feeling

Today the French Wrestling Fan and I went to lunch at Milestone 229, a restaurant on the Scioto Mile.  We ate outside on a beautiful day, with a prime view of the cool outdoor fountains located next to the restaurant.

While we sat there a young girl took her shoes off and ran out to the fountain area.  She had a ball walking barefoot through the water, scuffling her feet and sending sprays of water into the air.  Her innocent fun captured the kind of giddy, fabulous feeling we all get on the cusp of a three-day summer weekend.  

It was all I could do to resist taking off my shoes and walking through the water, too.  We might need to do some barefooting this weekend, however.

More Fountains, Please

They’ve put a new fountain in at one of the entrances to the Columbus Commons.  It’s a nice fountain, with its lily pad look and bright green surrounding shrubbery.  But then, all fountains really are nice, aren’t they?  The burble of the water, the coolness of the air around them, the slight spray on your face, the gleam of the shimmering water on a sunny day — these are the things that make fountains a great addition to any metropolitan area.

If I were in charge of city planning, I’d make sure that a chunk of development money was dedicated to building more fountains.

Frank Fetch Fountain

When you’re on a dog walk in the early morning hours, the fountain at Frank Fetch Park, with its dome-like water spout and underneath lighting, is pretty cool.

The Fountains Of Gay Street

Well, okay, the headline for this post is technically accurate but a bit misleading, because Gay Street has precisely two fountains.  Still, it’s appropriately plural, and we’re glad to have them.  This is the larger of the two and is part of the Edwards development that has added a lot of charm and beauty to the area around our buildings.

I love fountains.  I think they add a lot to a neighborhood in terms of sight and sound.  This one looks almost like a horse trough.  I’m hoping that, as Gay Street continues to be built out and additional residential buildings appear, we might add another fountain or two to the wet, watery mix in our neighborhood.

Spray On the Neck

Today I went to lunch with friend and loyal Webner House reader and commenter Mike N.  We met at Milestone 229, at the southern end of the Scioto Mile.

We sat outside, next to the the fountain and sprinkler area that is a huge hit with kids during the summer months, and watched the water show as we talked about what’s going on in the world.  The sky was blue, and the clouds went sailing past on a gentle breeze.  It was a warm day, and I enjoyed the September sun on my back.  It also felt good when the main fountain erupted and the breeze threw a fine spray of cooling water in our direction, lightly dusting the back of my neck.  We had a terrific lunch (thanks for treating, Mike!) and chat, and then we walked back toward the heart of downtown along the Scioto Mile.

When I got back to my desk, I checked the news websites to see if there had been any more riots and attacks on Americans in the Middle East.

Civic Money Well Spent

Last weekend Kish and I visited Chicago’s Millennium Park for the first time.  I had high expectations because I’ve heard a lot about it, and those high expectations were fully met.

The fountain at Wrigley Square

Millennium Park is a 24.5 acre park located on the site of the former Illinois Central Railroad rail yard and parking lot, in an area between the Loop section of downtown Chicago and Lake Michigan.  The park, which took years to build and opened four years behind schedule, was dogged by artistic and aesthetic controversies and cost overruns.

At the time it opened, some predicted that the cost overruns and controversies would soon be forgotten after people got to experience the park and its many spectacular features.  I think those people were right.  Since its opening in 2004, Millennium Park has become one of Chicago’s most visited attractions, as well as the site of concerts, festivals, and many other activities.  When we visited there last weekend it was hopping.

A side view of "The Bean" at the Cloud Gate

The location of the park is inspired.  By putting the park at the site of the old rail yard, Chicago’s leaders and city planners subtracted a downtown eyesore and added a beautiful green space area that provides a great perspective from which to view the rest of the city and the impressive Chicago skyline.

And the features of the park show what can be done when a city and private entities work in partnership.  Millennium Park started as a smaller concept, with a smaller price tag, then grew in scale and cost as private benefactors and contributions were attracted.  Ultimately, the entire project cost $475 million and was funded through civic money and substantial private contributions from individuals, corporations, and foundations.  The result is a world-class combination of architecture, gardens, bridges, cool shaded areas, and fun stuff for just about everybody.

One of the "face fountains" at the Crown Fountain

The thing about Millennium Park that was most impressive to me was that it already seems deeply woven into the fabric of life for Chicago residents.  Sure, the architecture of the Pritzker Pavilion is striking, but it wouldn’t mean much if people in the community weren’t using and enjoying the facilities — and it sure looks like Millennium Park is used and enjoyed.  When we were there, we saw a number of wedding parties getting their pictures taken at Millennium Park landmarks.  We saw kids jumping and playing in the Crown Fountain, waiting for its iconic faces to spew out water.  We saw people with strollers walking past “the Bean” and enjoying the gardens.  I’d be confident in guessing that the people of Chicago are very happy that Millennium Park is there.

I’ve always thought that well-planned parks and fountains make a hugely positive contribution to a great city.  Chicago’s Millennium Park certainly supports that theory.

On The Scioto Mile (II)

In the wake of yesterday’s post, our friends Michelle and Lee politely pointed out that there is a restaurant called Milestone 229 at the end of the Scioto Mile, as well as a series of fountains and misting stations right in front of the restaurant.  Both are unfortunately shielded from the rest of the Scioto Mile by some fencing related to ongoing construction.

My bad!  I visited the area today to have lunch with good friend and devoted Webner House reader Mike N, and I’m glad I did.  Milestone 229 serves some good food and looks to have an extensive drinks menu, although we didn’t sample any of them.  It also has a large outdoor eating area as well as a large bend of floor-to-ceiling windows to allow a good look at the fountain area.

There is good reason to encourage viewing of the fountain area, because dozens of happy kids were providing great free entertainment as they ran in and out of the different fountains and soaked themselves to the skin.  From the number of kids, Moms, Dads, and caregivers who were there, I’d say the fountain area has already become a go-to destination on a hot summer’s day.

A Reason To Take 8th Grade Geometry

We sat huddled in Mrs. Jackman’s 8th grade geometry class at Hastings Junior High, learning the names of differently shaped solids and how to calculate their volumes, discussing the value of pi and the Pythagorean theorem and other equations, all the while wondering when in the hell we would ever use this self-evidently useless information.

Little did we know that Mrs. Jackman’s diligent instruction would have equipped us to nod yes if Louis XIV had asked us to design the extensive, jaw-dropping gardens at the palace at Versailles!  But in fact those gardens — from their layouts, to their perspectives to the far horizon, to the shapes in which shrubs are trimmed, are all about using geometry, geometry, and more geometry.

In my view, the gardens at Versailles are far more interesting and memorable than the palace.  You can only see so much gilt, and take in so many paintings and busts of Louis XIV, and experience so many vaulted ceilings and marble floors, before you experience sensory overload and ultimate disinterest.

But the gardens!  They are full of wonder and surprises. Who would have thought that geometric lines and shapes could be so enjoyable and, in the case of shrubs, even a bit silly and whimsical?

Mrs. Jackman, who considered geometry to be a very serious topic and applied a no-nonsense approach to her teaching, might not have approved, but I chuckled with delight as Richard and I strolled through the gardens and enjoyed the different shapes and patterns that lay around every corner.  The fact is, geometric lines and shapes are pleasing to the eye and to the mind.  The gardens at Versailles are extraordinarily beautiful not just because of the flowers, and fountains, and canals, but because they are laid out in a precise geometric fashion.  The gardens convey the neatness, and order, and patterns that the human brain craves.

A City Of Fountains

The kings, cardinals, emperors, and Presidents of France who have lived in and loved Paris have had centuries to make Paris into a beautiful city.

The fountain next to St. Sulpice

They’ve razed entire sections of the medieval town, built sweeping boulevards, turned palaces and royal gardens into public buildings and green spaces for the common man, and erected monumental structures, triumphal arches, and engineering marvels.  And, equally important from my perspective, they’ve built fountains — lots and lots of fountains.

Paris has some of the greatest fountains in the world.  It seems like whenever you turn a corner in an unknown neighborhood you find another fountain of striking beauty.  Some feature mythological figures, some feature animals, and some feature bishops and snarling lions.  But all are beautiful, and all seem to be surrounded by people whenever you walk past.

The fountain at the edge of the Luxembourg Gardens

Why are people so attracted to fountains?  I think it is because the Parisian fountains are, without exception, beautiful and interesting to examine.  There is a certain pleasing whimsical quality to fountains, whether it is open-mouthed turtles shooting heavy jets of water at four women representing different continents holding up a globe or angry lions seeming to dare passersby to come one step closer to the gushing water.  And there is something about being near tumbling water that is both soothing and cooling.  Who wouldn’t want to sit next to a fabulous fountain and read a book during a lunch hour break?

The fountain at the foot of Boulevard St. Michel

I’m sure that fountains are incredibly expensive to build, maintain, and operate.  But if the city fathers and urban planners in Columbus are looking for a way to draw people to a particular area — say, to the newly constructed Columbus Commons space, for example — they could do a lot worse that build an attractive, more traditional fountain in that area.  Forget about just putting a few chairs and tables on a plaza, and start thinking about rushing water, and minotaurs and griffins, and maybe Christopher Columbus and other explorers on boats.  I’m convinced that when you are talking about fountains, if you build it, they will come.