17 August 2007

Philadelphia has been called the "Paris of America", a title bestowed with at least some merit as this city has a storied artistic history. Some of the nation's most reknowned institutions for theater, art and music call this city home. Beyond them, however, is the 'everyday' art - the sculptures, the murals - that adorn countless Philadelphia streets and squares and one aspect of that public art that stays remarkably well under the radar are the city's fountains.

Grand and inconspicuous, from University City to Passyunk Square, Philadelphia is a city that offers no shortage of water displays. Being founded on a neck of land between two great rivers and owing its success and stature to its proximity to waterways, it should come as no surprise that this city is rife with them.

While preparing for this shoot, I compiled a list of every fountain in the city of Philadelphia I could name or locate from memory. At first glance it doesn't sound like a big job. Most Philadelphians certainly are capable (or should be) of naming as many as 7 or 8 water displays around the city, mostly downtown. But after culling my own memory, I came up with 43 and with the help of one R Bradley Maule, got a little closer to 50 (and there are several we both forgot, I later discovered). And these fountains and water features aren't just the kind found in the center of large parks. They can be found in the lobbies of office buildings, the lawns and courtyards of hotels and highrises and hidden nooks of historical places. They're sometimes the white noise that accompanies your lunch or smoke break that you rarely give thought to.

What was even more incredible than how many seem to pop out at you was how many are in disrepair or not in use at all. Apart from fountains down for maintenance, I came across a few that had been converted into impromptu plastic forests and oscillating pylons of light and others waiting for the next stiff wind to put them out of their misery. And would it surprise you to learn that nine of Philadelphia's ten tallest buildings - this includes Comcast Center as of next spring - have fountains and/or water features (or used to - what's with the plastic jungle, Liberty Place?).

Now that we're in the dog days of this long, hot summer, why not take a cool break and see what's splashing around our fair town.


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