Top Attractions of Chicago Buckingham Fountain Clarence Buckingham Memorial Fountain

Buckingham Fountain, officially known as the 'Clarence Buckingham Memorial Fountain' is one of Chicago's most popular landmarks. The fountain is located in Grant Park at the center of a formally laid out garden.

Kate Buckingham

 

 

 

Buckingham Fountain

 

The fountain was commisioned in 1927 by Kate Buckingham to honor her late brother Clarence. She had frequently traveled to Europe, where she admired the huge public fountains and wanted to bring some of Europe's monumentality to Chicago. She also left an endowment to maintain the fountain.

Design

The design of the fountain is based on the 'Bassin de Latone' at the Versailles Palace near Paris and was built by Edward H. Bennett, who had also constructed

the Michigan Avenue Bridge.

 

 

One of Buckingham Fountain's Seahorses

The fountain rises more than 7 meters high (23ft) and consists of 3 layers of bassins surrounded by four pairs of bronze seahorses. Each sea horse symbolizes a state bordering Lake Michigan (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Wisconsin) while the fountain represents the lake itself. The statues were created by the French sculptor Marcel F. Loyau, who won the Prix National at the 1927 Paris Salon for it.

A Monumental Fountain

 

 

 

The fountain at night

 

One of the largest fountains in the world, the Buckingham Fountain measures 85m/280ft in diameter. It features 134 jets powered by 3 pumps.
The fountain's hourly 20 minute water display starts with small sprays. While the basins are filled more and more jets are activated until it reaches its climax when the central jet pushes water up to a height of 46m/150ft. The animation is best seen at dusk - after 8 pm - when it is accompanied with music and beautifully animated with a now computerized choreography of color spotlights.

Top Attractions of Paris France - Place de la Concorde Square of Concord

At eight hectares (20 acres), the octagonal Place de la Concorde is the largest square in Paris. It is situated between the Tuileries and the Champs-Elysées.

Creation

 

 Place de la Concorde

In 1763, a large statue of king Louis XV was erected at this site to celebrate the recovery of the king after a serious illness. The square surrounding the statue was created later, in 1772, by the architect Jacques-Ange Gabriel. It was known as the place Louis XV.

Guillotine

In 1792, during the French revolution, the statue was replaced by a another, large statue, called 'Liberté' (freedom) and the square was called Place de la Révolution. A guillotine was installed at the center of the square and in a time span of only a couple of years, 1119 people were beheaded here. Amongst them many famous people like King Louis XVI, Marie-Antionette, and

revolutionary Robespierre, just to name a few. After the revolution the square was renamed several times until 1830, when it was given the current name 'Place de la Concorde'. 

 

 Cleopatra's Needle

Obelisk

In the 19th century the 3200 years old obelisk from the temple of Ramses II at Thebes was installed at the center of the Place de la Concorde. It is a 23 meters (75 ft) tall monolith in pink granite and weighs approximately 230 tons. In 1831, it was offered by the Viceroy of Egypt to Louis Philippe. 

 

Obelisk's pedestal

 

 

Three obelisks wereoffered by the Viceroy, but only one was transported to Paris.

The obelisk - sometimes dubbed 'L'aiguille de Cléopâtre' or Cleopatra's Needle - is covered with hieroglyphs picturing the reign of pharaohs Ramses II & Ramses III. Pictures on the pedestal describe the transportation to Paris and its installation at the square in 1836.

Statues & Fountains

Brest Monument, Place de la Concorde

 

 

Statue of galloping horse

Fontaine des Mers

 

 

 Maritime Fountain at Place de la Concorde

At each corner of the octagonal square is a statue representing a French city: Bordeaux, Brest, Lille, Lyon, Marseille, Nantes, Rouen and Strasbourg. They were installed in 1836 by Jacob Ignaz Hittorf, who redesigned the Place de la Concorde between 1833 and 1846. That same year a bronze fountain, called 'La fontaine des Mers' was added to the square. A second one, the 'Elevation of the Maritime' fountain, was installed in 1839. Both fountains were designed by Hittorf.

Orientation

From the Place de la Concorde you can see the Arc de Triomphe (west), the Madeleine (north), the Tuileries (east) and, across the Seine, the Palais Bourbon, now the Assemblée Nationale(south).