Eli Bates Fountain

Eli Bates Fountain
The fountain in 2012
Location	Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Coordinates	41°55′22″N87°38′7″W / 41.92278°N 87.63528°W / 41.92278; -87.63528

Eli Bates Fountain, also known as Storks at Play, ^[1] is a fountain and sculpture in the center of the formal garden outside Lincoln Park's Conservatory, in Chicago, Illinois, United States. ^{[2] [3] [4]}

Description

The fountain is composed of a large, circular granite basin, two bronze storks (or, possibly, herons) with outstretched wings and water spewing water from their beaks, three figures that are half-boy and half-fish each holding unwieldy fishes, and bronze reeds and cattails at the center. ^[5]

History

Eli Bates

The fountain was installed in 1887 as a gift from Eli Bates, a wealthy Chicago business man. It was designed by famous artist Augustus Saint-Gaudens (1848–1907), and his assistant Frederick William MacMonnies (1863–1937), who later would design the famous central fountain, the Grand Barge of State, in the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition. ^[5]

References

1. "Essential Sculpture" (PDF). Lincoln Park Conservancy.
2. "Eli Bates Fountain". Chicago Park District. Archived from the original on March 23, 2023. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
3. "Eli Bates Fountain – Public Art and Architecture from Around the World". artandarchitecture-sf.com. Archived from the original on July 25, 2017. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
4. "Past Projects - Lincoln Park Conservancy". July 16, 2015. Archived from the original on June 5, 2023. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
5. "Eli Bates Fountain". Chicago Park District. Retrieved September 30th, 2015. Archived 2015-10-07 at the Wayback Machine