Initially, the Philadelphia Fountain Society has the fountain built as a memorial fountain in honor of its late president and founder but eventually they agreed for the outdoor water fountain to become a city property. In return, the Society was granted the center of Logan Circle to build the fountain.
Water Fountains
- Trevi Water Fountain
- The Swann Memorial Fountain
- Buckingham Water Fountain
- Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi
- Peterhof Water Gardens
- Villa d'Este Water Fountain
- The German Fountain
- Jet d'Eau Water Fountain
- Trafalgar Square Water Fountain
- Fountain of Wealth
- Tyler Davidson Fountain
- Triton Water Fountain
- Fountain of Nations
- Flora Water Fountain
- Bellagio Water Fountain
The Swann Memorial Fountain
The beautiful and elegant Swann Memorial Water Fountain is located in the center of Logan Circle in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. This is a water fountain sculpture created by Alexander Stirling Calder. The water feature which was designed with architect Wilson Eyre was built in memory of Dr. Wilson Cary Swann, founder of the Philadelphia Fountain Society.
The Swann Memorial fountain is an adaptation of the traditional river god sculpture. Calder and Eyre created large Native American figures to symbolize the major streams in the area which are the: the Delaware, the Schuylkill, and the Wissahickon. In the river god adaptation of the fountain, a young girl is leaning on her side against an agitated, water-spouting swan. This is the representation of the Wissahickon Creek. There is also a mature woman holding the neck of the swan. This, in turn, is the representation for the Schuylkill River. And lastly, a male figure is reaching above his head to grasp his bow as large pike sprays water over him. This is a good representation of the Delaware River.
There are also other sculptures on the fountain. Sculpted frogs and turtles spout water toward the 50-foot (15 m) geyser in the center. The swans used in the fountain is said to be taken from Dr. Swann's name. It was Eyre who designed the basin and the interlacing water jets, including the central geyser. The geyser is said to spout water up to 50 feet but typically it only spouts about 25 feet.
It has been a tradition for a long time to Philadelphians to swim in the fountain during the warm months. However in the summer of 2006, a swimming ban was enforced. The City of Philadelphia began enforcing the swimming ban with a near constant security presence. Fortunately, to the water fountain-lovers, the ban will be uplifted by 2009. The presence of security in the area near the water fountains will taper off and disappear completely by 2009 according to the authorities.
The Swann Memorial Fountain stands as the midpoint on the Ben Franklin Parkway and it also serves as the center of Logan Square. The midpoint of the Ben Franklin Parkway also includes sculptures by two other generations of the Calder family. It was Alexander Milne Calder, the father of the original creator of the Swann Memorial Fountain Alexander Stirling Calder, who designed the statue of William Penn at the top of the City Hall tower at the southeast end. On the other hand, at the Philadelphia Museum of Art on the northwest end, one can see the mobile Ghosts. This in turn was created by Alexander Stirling Calder leading to a local wit referring to the three sculptures as the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost.