 |
| August 24, 1925 -- Construction begins on Chicago's Buckingham Fountain |
It was on this day
back in 1925 that work began on one of Chicago’s great lakefront attractions,
the fountain that serves as the central point of Grant Park -- Kate
Buckingham’s gift in memory of her deceased brother, Clarence. In relating the news of the fountain’s
construction The Chicago Tribune
called it “as large and as costly as any in the world . . . twice the size of
that of Latona at Versailles.”
Stopping by the
fountain is always a pleasure, even more today than in the 1920’s because we
don’t have the smoke and cinders of the railroads separating the mist of the
fountain’s jets from the majesty of the skyline two blocks to the west.
Spend a few minutes
at the fountain today, and you’ll get a real treat because on the east side,
running along Lake Shore Drive, are two big patches of sunflowers, just now
coming into bloom. Show me another city
that displays this close a relationship between nature, art and
architecture.
It is
eye-catching. That was especially true
on the morning that I stopped by as fire equipment and a paramedic van had
southbound traffic on the drive at a near standstill, working an accident in
which an S.U.V. had slammed into the rear of a cab, the accident probably the result of a driver
being blinded by the sunflowers.
Here's a look at how great this scene is . . .
 |
| JWB Photo |
 |
| JWB Photo |
 |
| JWB Photo |
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment