City - Cincinnati OH - The genius of water 1906
by Mike Savad
Title
City - Cincinnati OH - The genius of water 1906
Artist
Mike Savad
Medium
Photograph - Colorized Photo
Description
Colorized photo from 1906
Original title: Fountain Square and Tyler-Davidson Fountain
Photographer: Detroit Publishing
Location: 42 East Fifth St, Cincinnati, OH
In 1840, Brother's-in-law, Henry Probasco and Tyler Davidson were partners in a hardware business in Cincinnati. Over the next twenty years, their business prospered, and they wanted to thank the patrons with a gift. Something practical and yet something more beautiful than any statue. But the idea was put on hold when the Civil war broke out. In 1865, eight months after the war's end, Davidson died. So the fountain not only was a thank you gift, it was now going to honor his partner, Tyler Davidson.
Probasco traveled to Europe and found a company to make his fountain. He found August von Krehlin at the Royal Bronze Foundry in Munich, Germany. They designed a statue that represents the blessing of water. The statue starts with a mother figure, with her arms stretched, water raining down from her hands onto the people below. Water rains down on a peasant farmer hoping for rain for his dry fields, a man praying for water to douse a fire, a mother cajoling her child to take a bath, a woman offering a cup for her invalid father.
But Probasco wanted more, he wanted smaller satellite fountains for people to drink from. Each corner has a boy wrestling an animal of some kind. Bronze cups were attached to to each corner, (in those days germs were not invented yet, and they shared cups often for many things). Two of the cups survived till the mid 1980's, before being removed for sanitary reasons.
But what was really interesting about this fountain, beyond the fact you can drink from it. It was cold in the summer! Underneath that fountain, was a room where they stored ice. There was 2000ft of copper pipe, and the water traveled through that and then out. So the water was always fresh and cold! One of the reasons he wanted a drinking fountain was that people and kids were visiting bars, because that was the only fresh water source.
Anyway, they needed a place to put this huge fountain. In the center of Fifth St, between Vine and Walnut, butchers for the most part worked here. The area stank, it was very urban, tough and tumble, a place they said, that would be too rough for a fine lady. When the butchers caught wind that they were going to turn this location into a fountain, they objected, they sued the city, claiming this area was zoned for commercial.
But they lost, and within 3 hours, the city sent crews to demolish every single store in that area. Which was quite unfair, since I doubt they were ready for that. And considering this was a gift to say thanks for making us money - from another business, its a bit rude to destroy other's... But in any case, they turned what was a gross, foul smelling area, that everyone hated, into a pleasant one. Installing this elliptical esplanade. Lined the street with trees, the fountain was placed to face Munich. By the 1970's they needed the space for roads, so they moved it over a bit, to what is now known as Fountain Square, and cleaned the statues in the process.
The statue cost about $2.5 million in today's money.
Uploaded
October 27th, 2021
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