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fountain

[foun-tn]

fountain, natural or artificially conveyed flow of water. In ancient Greece columnar shrines were built over springs and dedicated to deities or nymphs. In ancient Rome fountains fed by the great aqueduct system furnished water in the streets, in the villa gardens, and in town houses. Though there were few public fountains in the Middle Ages, a number of beautiful examples remain, especially in Italy, where splendid Renaissance fountains, showing the full artistic exuberance of the period, are also found even in the smallest village square or the least pretentious villa. The development of the great 16th- and 17th-century villas, with their hillside gardens and natural water sources, called forth amazing ingenuity in water decoration. In the Villa d'Este at Tivoli and the villas at Frascati, near Rome, the various disposals of water constituted an integral element of the garden composition. In France the gardens of the palace of Versailles, designed by Le Nôtre, embodied a vast scheme of water adornment, with elaborate sculptural treatment. The supply, held in a reservoir at Marly, was raised 500 ft (152 m) above the Seine by machinery. The theatrical trend of the baroque period found expression also in fountains. In keeping with the animated postures of the sculptured nymphs, sea horses, and dolphins, the water issued splashing over the rims of the uppermost bowls and down upon artificial rocks and shells. A colossal figure of Neptune was a favorite motif, as in famous examples at Florence, Bologna, and Rome. Bernini designed one such fountain in Rome. He also planned the superbly simple fountains in St. Peter's Square and the dramatic fountains in the Piazza Navona. In 1762 one of the most famous and elaborate examples was completed, the fountain of Trevi. In sharp contrast with these are the fountains of Muslim countries, which instead of gushing water often emit an inconspicuous trickle. In their gardens the water lies in quiet pools and long, narrow channels. Of the Moorish fountains employing basins and sculpture, the Fountain of the Lions in the Alhambra, Granada, is the most famous. Invariably a fountain for ablutions stands in the courtyard of a mosque. In Middle Eastern cities the public fountains are entirely enclosed within structures richly finished in marbles and ceramics and with wide projecting roofs. Examples are numerous in Istanbul, Cairo, and Damascus. The modern public drinking fountain is usually of strictly utilitarian design. American architects and landscape artists, however, are encouraging the use of the ornamental fountain with definite success.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia Copyright © 2004.
Licensed from Columbia University Press

fountain

Artificially produced jet of water, and the structure from which it rises. Fountains have been an important feature of landscape design since ancient times. Displaced for a time by the medieval well, the fountain reemerged in the late Middle Ages. It reached its peak in the Renaissance and Baroque eras, with designs in which sculpture became prominent (e.g., Rome's Trevi Fountain). Supplying water through conduits to multiple fountains, as at the Palace of Versailles, was an important feat. In Muslim countries, fountains for drinking and for ablutions are of great importance. A common type is the simple spout and basin enclosed in a graceful niche; more ambitious designs take the form of a richly decorated pavilion.

Learn more about fountain with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.

Fountain, Colorado

The City of Fountain is a Home Rule Municipality located in El Paso County, Colorado, United States. Fountain is located just ten miles (16 km) south of Colorado Springs and just east of Fort Carson. Fountain and the Colorado Springs suburbs Security and Widefield make up the "Fountain Valley" community. According to 2006 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city is 19,081. In 1999, Fountain was chosen as "America's Millennium City" by the New York Times based on the city's proximity to national census statistics and qualitative research on what American life was actually like at the turn of the last century. Fountain was named an "All-America City" in 2002 by the National Civic League. The city is the home of Pikes Peak International Raceway.

Geography

Fountain is located at (38.693787, -104.698156).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 14.0 square miles (36.3 km²), of which, 14.0 square miles (36.3 km²) of it is land and 0.07% is water. The eponymous Fountain Creek flows south through the city.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 15,197 people, 5,039 households, and 4,061 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,085.7 people per square mile (419.1/km²). There were 5,219 housing units at an average density of 372.9/sq mi (143.9/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 75.07% White, 8.74% African American, 1.41% Native American, 2.01% Asian, 0.55% Pacific Islander, 6.71% from other races, and 5.50% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 15.06% of the population.

There were 5,039 households out of which 49.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.7% were married couples living together, 13.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 19.4% were non-families. 14.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 3.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.01 and the average family size was 3.33.

In the city the population was spread out with 34.5% under the age of 18, 8.8% from 18 to 24, 34.3% from 25 to 44, 17.0% from 45 to 64, and 5.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 29 years. For every 100 females there were 98.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.1 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $42,121, and the median income for a family was $44,735. Males had a median income of $31,192 versus $24,000 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,975. About 5.9% of families and 8.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.6% of those under age 18 and 14.7% of those age 65 or over.

History: The Big Bang

A tremendous train wreck, "The Blast" as it is now known, occurred in Fountain during the spring of 1888. Just after three in the morning on May 14, 1888 a freight train carrying eighteen tons of explosives and a passenger train collided in the city. The accident killed three people: Charles F. Smith, a Fountain lumber dealer originally from Keokuk, Iowa, Henry Hutchins, a Fountain merchant and Mrs. Sarah Widrig a local hat maker from Fountain. (There are conflicting reports of who else died as a result of injuries from the crash.)

The "blast" from the collision created a very loud explosion that could be heard from miles away. The crash destroyed a nearby church, a grocery store and created a large crater in the ground forty feet in diameter and fifteen feet deep.

The cause of the wreck was attributed to a pair of unruly vagrants who were kicked-off of the freight train north of Fountain in Colorado Springs. After an investigation by The Rocky Mountain News, it was later reported that one of the two vagrants murdered a third man, Frank Shipman, on the freight train. Shipman, who had only one leg, was returning from visiting his brother in Pueblo, Colorado. The unidentified vagrants and Shipman had been arguing and Shipman was struck hard in the head killing him. The men attempted to somehow dispose of Shipman's dead body and cover-up the crime by disconnecting the train car Shipman's body was in sending it down the railroad tracks. The train car Shipman's body was in, three other train cars carrying the explosive naphtha and the caboose of the freight train were disconnected by the men and sent southbound towards Fountain. Meanwhile, a passenger train was traveling northbound on the same tracks. The collision followed. Thirty riders on board the northbound passenger train were able to escape the locomotive before the collision thanks to a frantic warning from the conductor. Twenty-eight people were injured. The vagrants suspected at the root of Shipman's murder and the train wreck were never found and no one was ever charged with a crime.

It is widely believed by local residents that the subsequent damage from the accident cost Fountain the city's bid for Colorado's state capital, which eventually went to Denver. The state capital committee visiting candidate Colorado cities could not travel to Fountain within a comfortable time frame because of the wreck.

Today, "The Blast" remains the pivotal event in the city's history. "The Blast" is commemorated with an annual street dance held at Fountain's City Hall Plaza every July.

In the News

Recently, in a controversial move, the city of Fountain purchased a ranch, the H2O Ranch in Custer County for $3.5 million. The city was interested in the prime water rights on the property totaling a year. Fountain is in the process of drying out the ranch and moving through the water courts to actually receive some of that water. They claim that they should be able to successfully receive 600 of that after the water courts have made their decisions. It is expected that Fountain will separate the water from the ranch and then sell the ranch separately.