Diamond Jubilee: Grant Park, Chicago

Rose Garden

After crossing Michigan Avenue, I entered Grant Park on the way to the lake. I passed yet another statue of Lincoln and thought "Oh my God enough" (after my stay in Springfield among lots of Lincoln likenesses). The gardens are meticulously maintained and on a rainy day during COVID there was virtually no one around.

I literally stumbled upon the Buckingham Fountain (I had forgotten about it). The place is one of the symbols of the city and has appeared in countless TV shows and movies.

Officially opened to the public on May 26, 1927 and dedicated on August 26, 1927, the Clarence Buckingham Memorial Fountain is the centerpiece of Grant Park—Chicago's "Front Yard.” For decades this site had been the subject of heated controversy. Renowned architect Daniel H. Burnham (1846–1912) planned to build the Field Museum of Natural History in this location in the center of the park. Businessman Aaron Montgomery Ward fought four Illinois State Supreme Court battles to prevent the building’s construction here in order to keep the park’s lakefront view “free and clear” of any obstructions. After Ward won his final case in late 1910, the South Park Commission did not have alternate plans for Grant Park, and the site remained unimproved for many years. Finally, in the early 1920s, architect Edward Bennett (1874–1954), longtime associate of Burnham and co-author of his seminal Plan of Chicago, prepared new plans to complete Grant Park. Bennett envisioned a monumental fountain to serve as the park’s formal focal point without obstructing views of Lake Michigan. Philanthropist and art patron Kate Sturges Buckingham (1858–1937) agreed to donate one million dollars for the fountain, which was dedicated to her brother, philanthropist and businessman Clarence Buckingham (1854–1913). Bennett designed the monument in collaboration with French sculptor Marcel Francois Loyau (1895–1936) and engineer Jacques H. Lambert. Inspired by the Latona Basin at Versailles, the structure comprises four basins clad in elaborately carved granite and pink Georgia marble. The Buckingham Fountain; however, is twice the size and re-circulates approximately three times more water than its French counterpart. Chicago’s fountain is also unique as it symbolizes Lake Michigan. Conveying the enormity of the lake, its major display uses as much as 15,000 gallons of water per minute and sprays water to a height of 150 feet from the ground. The massive lower basin features four sets of Art Deco style sea horses representing the four states that border Lake Michigan. To create the sea-related bronze elements, sculptor Loyau studied the sea horse collection at a zoological institution in Paris. The fountain's sculptural elements garnered Loyau the Prix National at the 1927 Paris Salon. The monument's original design included colored lighting to emulate soft moonlight. During the dedication in August 1927, John Philip Sousa conducted while his band played “Pomp and Circumstance” before an audience of 50,000 people.

https://www.chicagoparkdistrict.com/parks-facilities/clarence-f-buckingham-memorial-fountain

Even in the rain, the fountain was impressive. Brian and I had visited in the winter, but it was shut off, so it was my first experience seeing it shooting a column of water over 100 feet into the air.

July 2021

I continued down to the lake itself. It was July and Chicago was cold and rainy. The line from "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" repeated through my head like an earworm: "Michigan steams like a young man's dreams". Well, on that day it was gray and cold with the occasional shower.

It was time to slowly make my way back through the city to the hotel.