July 4, 1902 – 10,000 people gather in
Independence Square at Douglas Park and Garfield Boulevard as Illinois Governor
Richard Yates unveils a great fountain while a band plays, Columbia, the Gem of the Ocean and 700 school children sing
along. In his speech the governor says,
“You may go around the world, and into every port, and you will find no flag so
dear to the seekers for freedom as the stars and stripes that wave over
there. It represents an unequaled, a
sublime, and unprecedented citizenship.” [Chicago Daily Tribune, July 5, 1902] The sculpture by Charles J. Mulligan stands
on top of a 15-foot base in the shape of the Liberty Bell. The children in the sculpture hold Roman
candles that once served as fountainheads.
The also carry a flag, bugle and drum in the celebration of an
old-fashioned Fourth of July. Today the
fountain basin is dry, surrounded by a ten-foot high fence as the above photo
shows.
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