Fountain

History

Numerous European treatises stressed the fountain as a principal ornament of the garden. Its popularity was attested to by its frequent use in both European and American gardens.1 Hydraulics (the branch of engineering concerned with moving water), however, did not play a major role in American garden design until the late eighteenth century, despite the frequent mention of still-water features such as canals, ponds, and pools in garden descriptions. In spite of the rarity of early examples that were executed, the term “fountain” was utilized and was understood to describe a variety of devices that issued water under pressure. This pressure was generated by gravity from an elevated water source—by a pump, or, later, by municipal pressurized water systems. Water, conveyed in pipes, was forced through an aperture that determined the trajectory of the spray. As George William Johnson (1847) and Jane Loudon (1845) described the process, different orifices could project water horizontally, vertically, or in an arc, enabling the designer to create effects simulating the form of a sheaf, fan, dome, or basket. A fountain with a single spout of water was sometimes called by its French synonym, jet d’eau, but larger waterworks, such as those in public squares and parks, were generally referred to as fountains (see Jet).

Although the research presented here has not revealed any work originating in the colonies, fountain technology was published in eighteenth-century European sources available in America, such as Stephen Switzer’s An Introduction to a General System of Hydrostaticks and Hydraulicks, Philosophical and Practical (1729). More widely available treatises discussed the role of fountains in garden design, but they do not include the level of detail and technical information found in Switzer. A. J. Downing’s A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening (1849) was the first American source to present an illustrated typology of fountains (such as weeping, or “Tazza” fountains, rockwork, and candelabra jets), but for further terminology and instruction, Downing directed the reader to “numerous French works devoted to this branch of Rural Embellishment.”2

The chronology of fountain construction in American gardens contrasts markedly with that of European and British practice. The only two known references to fountains from the eighteenth century are William Byrd II’s 1732 account of the fountain at Col. Alexander Spotswood’s estate, near Ger- manna, Va., and James Thacher’s 1830 recollections of a visit some 42 years earlier to Col. Thaddeus Kosciusko’s garden at West Point, N.Y. Even in the early nineteenth century, fountains in private gardens like the one built in 1814 at Belfield, Charles Willson Peale’s estate in Germantown, Pa., were rare. Public fountains appeared in descriptions near the turn of the nineteenth century, with the earliest examples in public pleasure grounds, such as Columbia and Mount Vernon Gardens in New York.3 Plans made in 1792 for Washington, D.C., by Pierre-Charles L’Enfant included fountains at the intersections of prominent avenues, but these were not executed until the second half of the nineteenth century, following the installation of a city water system. It was only after the introduction of city water systems in the 1820s through the 1840s that such public fountains became common, like the one in Springfield, Mass. [Fig. 1].4 In New York, numerous paintings and prints, such as a print depicting City Hall Park [Fig. 2], captured the enthusiasm reported by Philip Hone (c. 1828–51) when he said, “Nothing is talked of or thought of in New York . . . but Croton water.” Not only did pressurized water make more elaborate hydraulics possible, but the celebration of civic pride, the advancement of “modern” technology, and the health and sanitation improvements associated with these water displays helped to justify the increased tax burden on citizens.

American fountains varied in scale from a single spout of water, such as the jet rising from a still-water basin at Belfield, to the large civic sponsored displays of City Hall Park and Union Square in New York, and the Cochituate Fountain on Boston Common [Fig. 3]. Following European design tradition, the apertures of fountains were sometimes incorporated into sculpture, often in the form of figures associated with water, such as the mythical form of a Naiad, which was praised by Mark Twain (1853) for spouting water at the Fairmount Waterworks in Philadelphia. Frederick Graff’s design of a “Boy and Dolphin” fountain, which was installed there in 1832, employed an ancient symbol of navigation safety [Fig. 4].5 One of the best-known examples of American fountain sculpture is William Rush’s statue “Water Nymph with Bittern,” which issued multiple jets in front of Philadelphia’s first pumping station at Centre Square [Fig. 5].6 In less elaborate examples, water came forth from urns, multi-tiered basins, and, as at W. H. Corcoran’s garden in Washington, D.C., described in 1846, the rockery (see Statue).

The aesthetic appeal of garden fountains is evident in treatise literature, and this quality was often echoed and appreciated in descriptions of American fountains, such as in Lewis Miller’s poem and illustration of a fountain, both from his Orbis Pictus (c. 1850). Depending upon its design, a fountain could add stateliness to a flower garden or a rustic naturalness to a rockery. Fountains of a “highly artificial” character, to quote Downing, lent themselves to marking the intersection of paths or the end of walks in much the same way as did obelisks, statues, or other architectural elements. William Rush’s 1824 design for Franklin Public Square in Philadelphia [Fig. 6] called for a central fountain in which the single jet of water cascaded down a pile of rocks similar to the base of his “Water Nymph and Bittern.”7 Robert Mills’s proposal for the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. (1841) [Fig. 7], shows two aligned fountains anchoring the central axis of the building and garden in the midst of the curvilinear walks and planting beds. As Charles Marshall (1799) noted, fountains cooled and refreshed through evaporation, and enhanced the aesthetic experience with the pleasant sounds and the animation of moving water. George William Johnson’s A Dictionary of Modern Gardening (1847) pointed out the visual interest of the height of the water stream as the “surprise” and “novelty” of fountains. Like other water features, fountains also combined the garden’s essential material of nature and art. Fountains joined the “natural” element of water with the artifice of plumbing, statuary, and the design of patterned streams.

In addition to their aesthetic appeal, fountains also conveyed the owner’s investment in an expensive water system and the specialized knowledge required to execute such a project. As obvious markers of wealth and status, fountains were often placed in prominent parts of a garden or in the center of the formal approach to a house or building, as in the painting Leaving the Manor House (c. 1850) [Fig. 8]. More symbolically, fountains were connected to the religious rites of baptism and renewal. A Shaker manuscript provided information to construct a fountain at New Lebanon, Ohio, as part of the community feast ground and to represent a “holy Fountain of waters of everlasting life” for the refreshment and purification of community members and for their reflection about heaven’s order on earth.8 Finally, fountains also served two vital practical functions. City fountains, such as the one depicted in a view of the Great Conflagration (1845) at New York [Fig. 9], provided a water source for fighting urban fires; others, such as Robert Mills’s design for the national Mall in Washington, D.C., provided water for irrigation.

-- Elizabeth Kryder-Reid

Texts

Usage

• Byrd, William, II, 28 September 1732, describing the estate of Col. Alexander Spotswood, near Germanna, Va. ([1901] 1970: 360)

“The afternoon was devoted to the ladys, who shew’d me one of their most beautiful Walks. They conducted me thro’ a Shady Lane to the Landing, and by the way made me drink some very fine Water that issued from a Marble Fountain, and ran incessantly.”

• L’Enfant, Pierre-Charles, 4 January 1792, from notes on “Plan of the City,” describing Washington, D.C. (quoted in Caemmerer 1950: 164)

“E. Five grand fountains intended with a constant spout of water. N. B. There are within the limits of the City above 25 good springs of excellent water abundantly supplied in the driest season of the year.”

• Dwight, Timothy, 1796, describing Boston, Mass. (1821: 1:490–91)

“It is remarkable, that the scheme of forming public squares, so beautiful, and in great towns so conducive to health, should have been almost universally forgotten. . . . On these open grounds the inhabitants might always find sweet air, charming walks, fountains refreshing the atmosphere, trees excluding the sun, and, together with fine flowering shrubs, presenting to the eye the most ornamental objects, found in the country.”

• Bentley, William, 4 September 1798, describing the brewery of General Hull, Watertown, Mass. (1962: 2:280)

“4. . . . He is now erecting a brewery upon the river & has finished the great Building 120 feet by 42. It is 27 feet to the e[a]ves, & under the side of

an hill so that the aquaduct from the surface enters at the second story. . . . His Aquaduct is led a mile from a western hill & is carried in every form round his House built with Brick. It supplies the fountains in front of the house, the cold Bath, the Barn yards, the gardens, & at different distances in the fields may be unstopped for use.”

• Peale, Charles Willson, 6 September 1814, in a letter to his son, Rembrandt Peale, describing Belfield, estate of Charles Willson Peale, Germantown, Pa.(Miller, Hart, and Ward, eds., 1991: 3:263)

“I have finished my fountain and . . . the Bason holds the water after much labour to make so having raised the Fish-pond it gives a jet of 12 feet high. . . . Rubens has place all his Pots round the fountain B[a]son and it makes a very handsome display, The Bason being 13 feet long & 10 wide.”

• Silliman, Benjamin, 1824, describing the mineral spring in New Lebanon, N.Y. (pp. 46–47)

“This is a very remarkable fountain. Unlike most mineral waters, it issues from a high hill; the water boils up in a space of ten feet wide, by three and a half deep . . . the water discharged amounts to eighteen barrels in a minute, and not only supplies the baths very copiously, simply by running down hill to them.”

• Hone, Philip, c. 1828–51, describing New York, N.Y. (quoted in Deák 1988:

1:349)

“Nothing is talked of or thought of in New York . . . but Croton water; fountains, aqueducts, hydrants, and hose attract our attention and impede our progress through the streets. Political spouting has given place to waterspouts, and the free current of water has diverted the attention of the people from the vexed questions of the confused state of the national currency. It is astonishing how popular the introduction of water is among all classes of our citizens, and how cheerfully they acquiesce in the enormous expense which will burden them and their posterity with taxes to the latest generation. Water! water! is the universal note which is sounded through every part of the city, and infuses joy and exultation into the masses, even though they are somewhat out of spirits.”

• Wailes, Benjamin L. C., 29 December 1829, describing Lemon Hill, estate of Henry Pratt, Philadelphia, Pa. (quoted in Moore 1954: 359)

“But the most enchanting prospect is towards the grand pleasure grove & green house of a Mr. Prat[t], a gentleman of fortune, and to this we next proceeded by a circutous [sic] rout, passing in view of the fish ponds, bowers, rustic retreats, summer houses, fountains, grotto, &c., &c. The grotto is dug in a bank [and] is of a circular form, the side built up of rock and arched over

head, and a number of Shells [?]. A dog of natural size carved out of marble sits just within the entrance, the guardian of the place. A narrow aperture lined with a hedge of arbor vitae leads to it. Next is a round fish pond with a small fountain playing in the pond.”

• Trollope, Frances Milton, 1830, describing Baltimore, Md. (1832: 1:292)

“There are also several pretty marble fountains in different parts of the city, which greatly add to its beauty. These are not, it is true, quite so splendid as that of the Innocents, or many others at Paris, but they are fountains of clear water, and they are built of white marble. There is one which is sheltered from the sun by a roof supported by light columns; it looks like a temple dedicated to the genius of the spring. The water flows into a marble cistern, to which you descend by a flight of steps of delicate whiteness, and return by another.”

• Thacher, James, 26 November 1830, “An Excursion on the Hudson,” describing the garden of Col. Thaddeus Kosciusko, West Point, N.Y. (New England Farmer 9: 148)

“Among the interesting recollections pertaining to West Point is Kosciusko’s garden, situated in a deep rocky valley near the river, where in 1778, I was amused in viewing his curious water fountain, spouting jets and cascades.”

• Anonymous, 9 May 1831, describing Columbia Garden, New York, N.Y. (New York Evening Post)

“The Garden is beautifully shaded by a grove of trees, in the center of which is erected a FOUNTAIN of Italian Marble, which Mr. P. had executed in Italy, as a specimen of their style.”

• Alcott, William A., 1838, “Embellishment and Improvement of Towns and Villages” (American Annals of Education 8: 342)

“It is in vain ever to expect the tone of mind or heart to be, as a general fact, so elevated under the deteriorating and withering influences of the half spoiled air, where there are nothing but huge walls of brick and stone, thickly lining narrow streets, with no gardens and shade trees, as under the influence of pure air, and in the midst of gardens, and commons, and fields, and fountains, and shade trees, and shrubbery.”

• Loudon, J. C., 1838, describing the Lawrencian Villa, residence of Mrs. Lawrence, Drayton Green, near London, England (p. 582)

“At the point 15, we are immediately in front of the fountain . . . supplied from a cistern which forms a small tower on the top of the tool-house; and beyond that is a walk to the stone cistern at 16, which supplies water for watering the garden. The water is raised to these cisterns by a forcing pump in the stableyard.” [Fig. 10]

• Willis, Nathaniel Parker, 1840, describing Undercliff, seat of Gen. George P. Morris, near Cold-Spring, N.Y. ([1840] 1971: 233)

“In front, a circle of greensward is refreshed by a fountain in the centre, gushing from a Grecian vase, and encircled by ornamental shrubbery; from thence a gravelled walk winds down a gentle declivity to a second plateau, and again descends to the entrance of the carriage road, which leads upwards along the left slope of the hill, through a noble forest, the growth of many years, until suddenly emerging from its sombre shades, the visitor beholds the mansion before him in the bright blaze of day.”

• Willis, Nathaniel Parker, 1840, describing the Fairmount Waterworks, Philadelphia, Pa. ([1840] 1971: 313)

“Steps and terraces conduct to the reservoirs, and thence the view over the ornamented grounds of the country seats opposite, and of a very picturesque and uneven country beyond, is exceedingly attractive. Below, the court of the principal building is laid out with gravel walks, and ornamented with fountains and flowering trees; and within the edifice there is a public drawing-room, of neat design and furniture; while in another wing are elegant refreshment-rooms—and, in short, all the appliances and means of a place of public amusement.”

• Buckingham, James Silk, April 1840, describing the garden of Father George Rapp, Economy, Pa. (1842: 227)

“This [the garden] covered about an acre and half of ground, and was neatly laid out in lawns, arbours, and flower-beds, with two prettily ornamented open octagonal arcades, each supporting a circular dome over a fountain.”

• Buckingham, James Silk, 1841, describing Baltimore, Md. (1:280–81)

“There are several springs or fountains in different parts of the city, which add to its beauty and convenience. The City Spring is enclosed by an iron railing, and covered by a dome supported by pillars; it is surrounded by trees and foliage, and has a very pleasing effect. The Western Fountain, in another quarter of the town, is also covered with a dome supported by columns, and is used for the supply of ships in the harbour of Baltimore with water. The Eastern Fountain is much larger, and adorned with more of architectural beauty. It has an Ionic colonnade, open all around, supporting a roof over the spring, which is enclosed within iron railings. The Centre Fountain, in front of the market, is also an ornament to the spot. The markets are excellent structures, and well adapted to their several uses.

“It is to be regretted that the introduction of fountains is not more frequent in the cities of England and America. Whoever has travelled much in Turkey, Greece, Italy, Spain, and Portugal, cannot fail to have admired the many beautiful fountains adorning the open places and public squares of the ancient cities of these countries. The refreshing coolness of the atmosphere, the sparkling brilliance of the waters, the soothing murmur of their falling sounds, and the air of freshness, luxury, and repose, which are all sources of enjoyment, are in themselves sufficient recommendation. It seems astonishing that London, Edinburgh, and Dublin, as well as New-York, Philadelphia, and Washington, should be do deficient as they are in these combinations of beauty and utility.”

• Buckingham, James Silk, 1841, describing Saratoga Springs, N.Y. (2:102)

“From daylight, therefore, until seven o’clock in the morning, the well or fountain, which is enclosed beneath a roof supported by a colonnade of fluted wooden pillars, is crowded with drinkers, and some are said to take the number of twenty tumblers of the water before breakfast.”

• Mills, Robert, 23? February 1841, in letter to

Joel R. Poinsett, describing his design for the national Mall, Washington, D.C. (Scott, ed., 1990: n.p.)

“The main building for the Institution is located about 300 feet south of the wall fronting the Botanic garden, from which it is separated by a circular road, in the centre of which is a fountain of water from the basin of which pipes are led underground thro’ the walks of the garden, for irrigating the same at pleasure, the fountain may be supplied from the canal flowing near the north wall of inclosure.”

• Adams, Rev. Nehemiah, 1842, describing Boston

Common, Boston, Mass. ([Adams] 1842: 47–49)

“Another illustration of the same kind is a recent proposition to conduct the rain water from the dome of the state-house into a central reservoir for the fire department, and to make the water show itself, on its way through the Common, in jets and fountains....

“Fountains on the Common would contribute greatly to the happiness of the people, — to their health of body and mind. Individuals of a melancholy disposition, occasioned by sedentary employments, would do well to spend more time on the Common, and especially to walk often by the Frog Pond, and watch the boys and children at their sport. Many a troubled mind, which neither the physician nor the clergyman can comfort, would also be soothed by lingering

around a playing fountain, and seeing its vigorous, graceful stream mounting into the air, waving in the wind, and falling back into its bed. . ..

“the sight of playing fountains on the Common, and of multitudes participating in the enjoyment of them, will both leave a soothing and refreshing influence, and stir the social, kind feelings of the people.”

• Hall, Abraham Oakley, 1846, describing the Place d’Armes (renamed Jackson Square), New Orleans, La. (quoted in Upton 1994: 283)

“A very neat railing, one or two respectable aged trees, a hundred or two blades of grass, a dilapidated fountain, a very naked flag-staff. . . . It has a water view, and with a judicious expenditure of a few thousand dollars might be made an inviting promenade; it is now but a species of cheap lodging-house for arriving emigrants, drunken sailors, and lazy stevedores.”

• Hovey, C. M., July 1846, “Notes of a Visit to several Gardens in the Vicinity of Washington, Baltimore, Philadelphia, and New York,” describing the garden of W. H. Corcoran, Washington, D.C. (Magazine of Horticulture 12: 245)

“At one end of the garden, is a very neatly constructed rock work, with a basin in the centre, supplied with water from a cistern placed at some distance, but which is only a few feet higher than the water. Small tubes project through the rock work, and by turning a cock, the water is thrown up in several small jets and falls into the basin. Such fountains are constructed at very little expense, and in small gardens they afford much gratification.”

• Cleaveland, Nehemiah, 1847, describing Greenwood Cemetery, Brooklyn, N.Y. (p.vi)

“To preserve, at all times, the supply and the transparency of the smaller ponds—to facilitate the sprinkling of the roads, and the irrigation of the grounds during periods of drought and dust— and especially to enrich the scenery, already so lovely, with a perfecting charm, the unfailing water of Sylvan Lake has been lifted into an elevated reservoir. Distributing pipes have been laid, and the visiter of the coming season will be refreshed by the sparkling beauty and gentle murmur of fountain and stream.”

• Justicia [pseud.], March 1849, “A Visit to Springbrook,” seat of Caleb Cope, near Philadelphia, Pa. (Horticulturist 3: 411)

“To the left of this grove is a sheet of spring water, rising on the farm, (which farm contains upwards of 100 acres,) that supplies a powerful Hydraulic Ram, diffusing the water over the whole place, supplying reservoirs, fountains, waterfalls, &c.”

• Miller, Lewis, c. 1850, description on a drawing of an idealized scene in the Orbis Pictus (n.p.)

“In beauteous Order Terminate the Scene.

the plenteous fountain the whole prospect crowned; Around the Gar-den leads its Streams. Visits each plant, and waters the Ground; While that in pipes beneath flows, And thence its Current On the town bestows. To verious use [sic]. for washing and drink. the People Supplies.” [Fig. 11]

• Downing, A. J., 1851, describing plans for improving the public grounds of Washington, D.C. quoted in Washburn 1967: 55)

“5th: Fountain Park

“This Park would be chiefly remarkable for its water features. The Fountain would be supplied from a basin in the Capitol. The pond or lake might either be formed from the overflow of this fountain, or from a filtering drain from the canal. The earth that would be excavated to form this pond is needed to fill up low places now existing in this portion of the grounds.”

• Twain, Mark, 26 October 1853, describing Fair-mount Waterworks, Philadelphia, Pa. (quoted in Gibson 1988: 2)

“Seeing a park at the foot of the hill, I entered—and found it one of the nicest little places about. Fat marble Cupids, in big marble vases, squirted water upward incessantly. Here stands in a kind of mausoleum, (is that proper?) a well executed piece of sculpture, with the inscription—‘Erected by the City Council of Philadelphia, to the memory of Peter [i.e. Frederick] Graff, the founder and inventor of the Fairmount Water Works.’ The bust looks toward the dam. It is all of the purest white marble. . . . [T]here was a long flight of stairs, leading to the summit of the hill. I went up—of course. But I forgot to say, that at the foot of this hill a pretty white marble Naiad stands on a projecting rock, and this, I must say is the prettiest fountain I have seen lately. A nice half-inch jet of water is thrown straight up ten or twelve feet, and descends in a shower all over the fair water spirit. Fountains also gushout of the rock at her feet in every direction.”