The Peacock Fountain

A commonly photographed tourist attraction, The Peacock Fountain located in Christchurch Botanic Gardens is truly a sight for sore eyes. And no, we’re not talking about the animal “peacock” when referring to this fountain, but rather the man it was was named after.

The fountain came about when John Thomas Peacock gave a large sum of money to beautify “the reserves and gardens in the city of Christchurch” and the Avon River.

This fountain, constructed by Coalbrookdale Iron Works, was unveiled in 1911, then moved to another location, then finally put in storage for years due to maintenance issues. In 1996, after a $270,000 renovation, it was commission to be instated at it’s third location: Christchurch.

From bright colors to beautiful-crafted detail, this fountain has a lot of unique traits not as commonly found in the works of traditional water features. Over the years, many onlookers have had many opinions (not always flattering) about the design of the Peacock Fountain. Robert Herdman Smith, head of the Canterbury College School of Art claimed it “exhibited no more taste than the gaudy decoration used by travelling showmen to embellish their merry go-rounds.” Albeit a controversial color scheme, I found it to be rather lovely.

My favorite part is the bright color scheme. So many fountains stick to monochromatic, so it was refreshing to see something so out of the ordinary. The slight touches of red and the natural and unnatural colorations of the featured creatures was fascinating! I’m also a big fan of the sea monster-esque ornaments who reside on the bottom detail of the fountain. If you’re ever in Christchurch, New Zealand – this fountain is most definitely a must-see.

Continuum

The Julie Penrose Fountain is an amazing fountain in all respects. It towers over the open spaces of the America the Beautiful Park and sits atop a large pedestal that seconds as a turntable. The result is a sculpture that rotates every 15 minutes, and provides a delightful detail for many spectators to detect.

Dubbed ‘Continuum’ by creator Bill Burgess, this Colorado Springs fountain represents the life-giving properties of water and depicts in a simple way, precipitation from the sky. The sculpture stands over 40ft tall and weighs in at around 24 tons.

Architect David Barber lined the circular fountain with 366 water jets that spray water down to the fountain’s base where the fluid runs a circular path to the mouth of a pool and is collected for everyone to play in. The fountain is one of the Nation’s largest ‘sculptural fountains,’ and runs daily from 11:00 am to 5:30 pm between May 23 to August 22, and is open only on weekends from August 23 through Labor Day.

Dedicated June 7th 2007, the fountain’s construction underwent many setbacks due to budget crunches and uncertain funding. However, the fountain eventually received funding through the generous donations of El Pomar Foundation supporters. The organization was created to enrich the well being of Colorado residents. The Julie Penrose fountain is named after El Pomar Foundation Co-founder Julie Penrose, both she and her husband Spencer supported the project from its beginning.

Five Rivers Fountains of Light

This week my travels take me to the lovely city of Dayton Ohio. This mid-sized city is beautifully juxtaposed by modern buildings and historical landmarks which set the backdrop for a very satisfying visit to one of the world’s largest fountains: the Five Rivers Fountain of Lights.

Let’s learn a little more about Dayton before we talk about the impressive water feature. The city is considered by many to be the birthplace of aviation, and is home to the Nation’s largest military aviation museum – the National Museum of the United States Air Force. The city also hosts one of the Nation’s premiere air shows, the Vectren Dayton Air Show.

As if almost by coincidence, Dayton also sits on one of the Nation’s most plentiful aquifers: the Great Miami Buried Valley Aquifer. This underground reservoir of natural water is the source for our impressive fountain located at the intersection of Mad River and the Miami River.

The Five Rivers Fountain of Lights is a unique fountain because of its new technology and sculptural design to create a work of art. The fountain is made of 5 evenly-spaced jet powered pumps which sit on the bank of both rivers and spray water streams to a central 6th pump which propels water 200 feet in the air. This fountain has a tremendous thirst for water, and consumes 2,500 gallons of water per minutes.

The fountain is open from Memorial day to Labor day from 6:55am – 9:55pm and 10:55 – 9:55pm on weekends. For safety, the fountain uses directional wind sensors which can shut down individual jets for 10 minutes intervals when windspeed or wind direction threaten to compromise traffic. This feature also works during the winter months and helps keep traffic moving and the show going.

The fountains 5 jets are made from aluminum spires which rise up 60 feet in the air, and were sculpted to reflect the sun’s light in moray patters over the river. When night rolls in, the spires are covered with 25 ‘intelligent’ lights which can recreate almost every color imaginable. However, the most surprising features of this bridge is that it does not draw its water directly from the lake, but from the aquifer below, preventing costly maintenance and costly construction.

If you are visiting Dayton, make sure to stop by RiverScape Metro Park and witness this amazing fountain first hand.

Thrasher Memorial Fountain

 
“I’m on my way, I’m going back to Alabam.”

Yes, it’s true folks, my travels take to The Heart of Dixie, to a city known as the Watercress capital of the world. Anyone know what I’m talking about?

Well, if you guessed Huntsville Alabama then you guessed correctly, and I commend you for your excellent knowledge of North American History. Extra points to those who were able to identify the the song “Alabam,” by Cowboy Copas!

The city of Huntsville is home to several cool attractions, history and culture – it’s the perfect place to find a special fountain known as the Big Spring Park Fountain located in Big Spring Park.
 

 
The fountain, the centerpiece of the park, was donated back in 2005 and is accompanied by a plaza with benches and landscaping. The fountain sits within a circular basin that is connected by a canal extension which feeds to an open body of water. The Thrasher family donated the park in memory of their father Tom Thrasher. The fountain construction was made to memorialize healthy living for the people of Huntsville.

The fountain design has been the center piece of some local fun and for St. Patrick’s Day, the fountain and its canal are dyed green to celebrate the special day.

Other fun attractions in Huntsville include the NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, and the United States Army Aviation and Missile Command. Finally, if you are in town, the Panoply Arts Festival should give you something to think about.

The World’s Largest Fountain

Although this fountain isn’t built yet Emaar Properties in Dubai plan to build a huge fountain that will be the biggest in the world. Although it hasn’t been built or even named yet pictures can found on the internet showing off the beautiful design.

The fountain will be capable of shooting water over 150 meters into the air, which is the height of a 50 story building! And like other large fountains this one will have a integral light and sound show!

Another Fountain Video

I was scouring Youtube again and found this really cool video by SAI Fountains. I actually had showcased some of these fountains and had no idea they were made by the same company!

Washington Harbor

Awhile ago I wrote about the fountain at the Washington Harbor. Here is a really cool video of the light show!

The fountain features: Day and Evening water and light shows, 41 custom Crystal ChoreoSwitches®, 3 Central Burst jets that reach up to 60’/ 18m, 42 Crystal LED IQ sequencing lights and Show Controls that can be run from an iPad or iPhone.

 

Swarovski Face Fountain

What girl doesn’t love Swarovski crystals? It was during my search for some new jewelry that I discovered a really cool, but frankly bizarre looking fountain that creates the entrance for the crystal themed indoor park, Swarovski Kristallwelten (Crystal Worlds).

This huge fountain is built into the hillside of Austria creating a tribal looking face that spurts water from its mouth. The eyes of the face are made from unblinking crystals that light up at night.

The pictures of this fountain are absolutely fascinating as it appears that the fountain is a natural part of the hillside.

Short Hills Mall

The other day a co-worker asked me if I enjoy indoor fountains as much as the outdoor ones that I spend so much time writing about. My answer was that typically I hate indoor fountains. They are usually tacky and uninspiring installations found in depressing malls and hotels. BUT there are always exceptions to this rule!

This indoor fountain found in a mall in New Jersey ironically enough, captured my attention with its smart use of lighting and large spherical water features. It is clean, and its modern design is the complete opposite of so many horrible indoor fountains I have seen.

Got to love refreshing design and attention to detail!

Floating Fountains

My last post about the quirky fountains from The Big Giving got me thinking about other strange fountains I have heard about. Behold the Floating Fountains designed by Isamu Noguchi in Osaka Japan.

These fountains tap into the world of science fiction as they rise above the water in a pseudo-lift off supported by jets of water. The illusion is incredible, especially at night. And now onto the pictures!

 

I love the design of these nine floating fountains.