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.

The Midnight Rainbow Fountain

Today we are going to have a little bit of fun and use our imagination. Instead admiring the conventional walk-up fountain that sprays up – or pours down, we are going to drive on this fountain! Well, technically, we are going to drive over the bridge on which the fountain is affixed. Do I have your attention yet? To make things more interesting, this fountain also happens to be the world’s longest fountain, falling just shy of a mile long – that’s a whopping 4,905ft long!

So where are we exactly? Seoul, South Korea, on the Banpo bridge that crosses the Han River. This two-tiered, downtown Seoul bridge connects the Seocho and Yongsan districts – it is also partially submersible. When the river’s water level rises, the lower section of the bridge is coved completely by water. However, what attracts the most tourists and the attention of locals is the Moonlight Rainbow Fountain.

The beautifully designed fountain sits along the sidebars of the bridge and uses 200 lights to illuminate the bridge beautifully during dark nights. The custom fountain is lauded for being environmentally friendly because it recycles the Han River’s water – an estimated 190 tons per minute without wasting a single drop. The custom fountain was installed September 2009, and has a total of 380 nozzles and requires 38 pumps to feed its appetite. Those powerful pumps propel beautifully colored water streams up to 20 meters high and 43 meters away.

So if you are ever in South Korea and can visit Seoul, make sure to drive over the Banpo Bridge and see the Moonlight Rainbow Fountain in action! The fountain operates from April to October, with 20-minute shows five times Monday – Thursday, six times on Friday, and seven times on the Weekends.

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.

The Blood Fountain – Swansea Wales, UK

I was lounging today, taking a day off from my travels and thinking about this fountain I once visited. I traveled to Wales and found something very spooky!

Halloween is coming up, and I thought this was the perfect fountain to talk about to get the blood pumping for the holiday… literally. This fountain is called, “The Blood Fountain.”

Found in Castle Gardens, Swansea – this fountain is tinted red, and has a caution sign warning bystanders that the fountain dye may stain clothing. Now, I’m not sure if the fountain’s water is red all the time, but the dying of the water started during an event to support heart disease, and celebrate National Heart Month.

The whole community came together around this fountain and they shared in a picnic filled with heart-healthy goodies. Everyone was dressed in red and and all in support of the British Heart Foundation’s efforts to keep hearts healthy and people happy. It was wonderful!

Fountains can be such a call to joy. Festivals happen around fountains, people drop all their wishes into them, and they generally bring such life to a place that might not be so lively otherwise.

So this Halloween, go find a fountain, make a wish, stay safe, and why not keep your heart healthy while you’re at it!

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.

 

Sunset Island

I often like to say that fountains are interactive pieces of art, but this fountain is so pretty I had to mention it! It is a mosaic style fountain that is in shape of a big compass. So pretty and well constructed.

This fountain is found in a housing community in Ocean City and is the perfect accent to the beautiful natural water features found around the community. Ocean City is essentially a big island filled with a private community of townhouses and condos, so the nautical themed compass fountain goes perfectly along with the ocean feel.

This fountain is also interactive! Ya’ll know how I feel about that!

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!

St. John Town Center

I wanted to write about another local water feature today! it’s a little different from my typical posts because this water feature is not really a fountain. It’s a cool man-made pond that was built outside one of my favorite Italian restaurants in Jacksonville, Maggiano’s.

This man-made pond is so whimsical and fun. There are a couple of metal herons who have spouts of water coming from their beaks, so I guess this pond could also be considered a fountain. I really love it though, and always spend a little time at it whenever I’m at the town center.

When I was looking for pictures of this fountain online I found out that it was made by the same construction company some of my other favorite local fountains were made by. I’m not surprised!