a fountain discovered
The first time I saw the Buckingham Fountain, its pink marble had scaffolding all over it. That was during its renovation in 1994. Even then, it presented a very imposing presence in the middle of Chicago's Grant Park, alone in the landscape. The city skyline was really the only thing that competed with it.

Several months later, when the water was turned back on, it became a magical wedding cake with seahorses spouting frothy water. In the evenings, changing colored lights highlighted the jet that flew high into the sky. On hot summer days, people vied to stand in the right spot, so that the wind would blow the high jet's cooling spray on them.

It was almost ten years later that I saw another side of the fountain. As part of an opportunity to turn on the Buckingham Fountain for the 2005 season, I was allowed to tour the little sunken room that sat on the south edge of the basin.

From 1927, when the fountain was built, until 1979, when the fountain was computerized, the nozzles and lights were run manually from this control room. The operator would look through the windows and activate levers to achieve a pre-arranged sequence of effects.

Down a metal staircase was another room filled with the pumps and engines that powered the fountain's water. The main jet had a pump all to itself that pushed the water 150 feet into the air.

After the pump room tour, I was invited to step into the fountain itself. Wearing roomy wading boots, I splashed over to the nearest seahorse and discovered that it hid some of the fountain's lights behind its metal reeds.

Half an hour later, I flipped the switch to turn on the fountain. Water seeped and then surged over the Georgia marble. The crowd cheered and watched fascinated as the flowing water danced and played, as similar crowds had down for more than 78 years.

- Dorothy Gebert

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Chicago landmarks: Buckingham Memorial Fountain and Garden
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Fountain reflects Chicago history
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2008 restoration
Restore the Fountain

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Married with Children