Unspecified/General

Set at the centre of Grant Park, Buckingham Fountain has been one of Chicago's signature landmarks since its dedication in August 1927. Built in an ornate, rococo wedding-cake style and inspired by the Latona Fountain at the Palace of Versailles, it was designed by the architect Edward H. Bennett, a key figure behind the 1909 Plan of Chicago, with sculpture by the Frenchman Marcel Loyau. The fountain was a gift to the city from the philanthropist Kate Sturges Buckingham, who funded it in memory of her brother Clarence; its formal name is the Clarence Buckingham Memorial Fountain. She also endowed a fund to pay for its upkeep. The design is allegorical: the central basin represents Lake Michigan, and four pairs of bronze sea horses stand for the four states that border the lake, namely Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan and Indiana. When it opened it was among the largest fountains in the world, and it remains a technical showpiece. From mid-April to mid-October it runs on a regular cycle, with a major display roughly every hour in which a central jet shoots water around 150 feet into the air; after dark these displays are accompanied by a choreographed show of coloured lights set to music. In winter the fountain is drained and decorated with festival lighting instead. For visitors the fountain is both a destination and a vantage point, with the lakefront on one side and the Chicago skyline rising behind it, a combination that has made it a fixture of postcards, films and television title sequences. It anchors a formally landscaped Beaux-Arts garden and sits within easy walking distance of the Art Institute, Millennium Park and the lakefront path, so most people fold a visit into a wider walk through the parks rather than making a special trip. The fountain has long doubled as a backdrop for the city, perhaps most familiar from a 1990s television comedy whose opening sequence framed it against the skyline. Its bronze sculpture was extensively restored and the pumping and lighting systems modernised in the 1990s, allowing the water and colour shows to be run by computer. Evening visits tend to be the most rewarding, when the lit displays draw the largest crowds to the surrounding promenade.

Type: Tourist Attraction

Address: 301 South Columbus Drive, Chicago, IL, United States

Opening Date: 26/08/1927