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Fountain of Time (henceforth The Fountain) is a 126 ft long sculpture by Lorado Taft situated at the western edge of the Midway Plaisance in Washington Park, Chicago. This location is in the Washington Park community area on Chicago's South Side. With its 100 figures passing before Father Time, it serves as a monument to the 100 years of peace resulting from the Treaty of Ghent in 1814. The fountain waters began running for the first time in 1920, but it was not dedicated to the city until 1922.

Part of a larger beautification plan for the Midway Plaisance, it was the first work of art made of concrete, and used a new type of molded, reinforced material that was claimed to be more durable and cheaper than alternatives. Before the completion of Millennium Park in 2004, it was considered the most important installation in the Chicago Park District.

The Fountain had to undergo several restorations due to the elements. During the late 1990s and first few years of the 21st century, The Fountain underwent repairs that corrected many of the problems caused by prior restorations. Despite all the restoration that has been completed, supporters of The Fountain continue to pursue resources for additional lighting, and the National Trust for Historic Preservation has nominated it for further funding.

Panoramic template

Planning
Benjamin Ferguson's 1905 US$1 million charitable trust gift to "memorialize events in American History" funded The Fountain, and many other public works in Chicago. Originally conceived in granite, another plan called for it to be chiseled out of Georgia marble at a cost of $30,000 per year for five years. It was intended to be part of a Midway beautification which would have included a stream, lagoons, and a series of bridges; a Bridge of Arts at Woodlawn Avenue would have been more elaborate than a Bridge of Religion at the intersection of Ellis Avenue and a Bridge of Science at Madison Avenue.

The Fountain was intended to be matched by a sister fountain, Fountain of Creation, on the opposite end of the Midway, but this was never completed. The finished portions are considered Taft's final work, and were given to University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, his alma mater. Two surviving elements stand outside the entrance to the Main Library and two others are at the south side of Foellinger Auditorium. The four figures range in height from 5 to 7 ft and are collectively named Sons and Daughters of Deucalion and Pyrrha.

Installation
The Fountain is in Washington Park near Midway Plaisance, which places it inside the Chicago Park District. This location, in the Washington Park community area on Chicago's South Side, puts it amid poor indifferent neighborhoods that are not concerned with the arts. The reflecting pool was designed by Howard Van Doren Shaw. The Fountain is considered to be the most important piece of monumental art in the Park District, which hosts over 100 pieces of art. Its importance stems from its sculptor, its message and the era in which it was created. It is the first finished art piece to be made of any type of concrete.

The Fountain is located a few blocks from Taft's studio, the National Historic Landmark, National Register of Historic Places-listed, Chicago Landmark Lorado Taft Midway Studios, which is located at 60th and Ingleside. Another notable sculpture nearby is Henry Moore's National Historic Landmark, National Register of Historic Places-listed, Chicago Landmark Nuclear Energy, which is located on the site of the first self-sustaining nuclear reaction at the University of Chicago. The Midway Plaisance connects The Fountain and Washington Park to Jackson Park, which hosts the Chicago Landmark Statue of the Republic. Formerly, The Midway Plaisance, Jackson Park and Washington Park were jointly known as South Park.

There is little agreement on the dimensions of The Fountain, with various sources describing it at 102 to 127 ft long. One of the few precise estimates describes it as 126 ft long, 23 ft wide and 24 ft tall.

The waters began running for the first time in the completed sculpture on September 1, 1920, but it was not dedicated to the city until November 15, 1922. University of Chicago President Harry Pratt Judson delivered an address at the dedication ceremony at the Midway Plaisance before a short talk by Taft. Charles Hutchinson, President of the B.F. Ferguson Trust; John Barton Payne, President of the South Park Board, also spoke.

Design
The sculpture is made of hollow-cast concrete form reinforced with steel that was cast in a 4,500-piece mold, using 250 ST of a material that some sources described as concrete-like, and that was made of pebbles from the Potomac River. This composite material was an innovation at the time. John Early of Washington, DC determined that by crushing pebbles, he could create a new concrete mixture that was more durable than limestone but cheaper than marble and bronze. Additionally, the reflection from the silica of the crushed stones complemented the endurance with artistic beauty. The same material was used at Chicago's Fine Arts Building.

Although most of the figures are generic representations, Taft included himself, with one of his assistants following him, along the west side of the sculpture. He is posed with his head bowed and hands clasped behind his back, while wearing a smock. His daughters also served as models.

The Fountain commemorates 100 years of peace between the United States and Great Britain since the Treaty of Ghent concluded the War of 1812 on December 24, 1814. The design was inspired by the poem Paradox of Time by Henry Austin Dobson, "Time goes, you say? Ah no, Alas, time stays, we go". The Fountain's theme is compared to Shakespeare's All the world's a stage monologue, which describes the seven ages of man: infant, schoolboy, lover, soldier, justice, old age, and dementia. Taft's figures represent birth, the struggle for existence, love, family life, religion, poetry, and war.

The sculpture depicts a hooded stationary Father Time carrying a scythe, watching over a parade of 100 figures arranged in an ellipse, with an overall pyramidal geometry. The allegorical procession depicts the entire spectrum of humanity at various stages of life. The contemporary 1920s Chicago Daily Tribune described the figures as heroic, and that choice of adjective has stayed with the piece. The figures are said to be passing in review as they rush through the stages of life. Father Time is described in various newspaper articles as "huge", "weird", and "dominant".

Although Taft is now better remembered for his books, such as The History of American Sculpture (1903), which is regarded as the first comprehensive work on the subject, in his day he was well-known for portraits and allegorical public sculpture, of which Fountain of Time is a prime example. It was produced in the period following his assignment to design sculptures for William Le Baron Jenney's Horticultural Building when he designed several large-scale public works, including Fountain of the Great Lakes. Taft resided in Illinois most of his life, and worked in the Midway Studios.

Restoration
Designed without expansion joints, few outdoor sculptures have been made of similar materials since the 1930s. The Fountain was first repaired in 1936; further work occurred in 1955. Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley attended a rededication in 1966. However, early repair crews often did more harm than good, with techniques such as sandblasting, and patching cracks with rigid materials.

By the 1980s, the sculpture was crumbling; cracks had developed, details of the figures had worn away, and moisture had eroded the internal structure. In wintertime the fountain had to be protected by a tarp. Weather, air pollution, and vandalism meant that hundreds of thousands of dollars were needed for restoration.

The Chicago Park District, University of Chicago, and Art Institute of Chicago conservators sponsored repairs in the 1990s. These included drying out the cavity of the hollow sculpture, removal of the deteriorated substructure, a newly-designed ventilation system within the piece, a protective exterior coating and repairs to the reflecting pool. In 1989, Chicago Park District allocated $150,000 to the project, which was matched by the Ferguson fund. By the end of 1991, the agency had collected $320,000 of its $520,000 estimated repair costs, from public and private funds, but in 1994 it still awaited repair.

In early 1997, after almost two decades of study, the only repairs completed were phase one of the air ventilation system to dehumidify the hollow base, the drainage pipes and an new inner roof. Plans included erection of a temporary two-story metal building to protect all but the giant Father Time from the harsh winters and to facilitate year-round repair, reinforcement of corroded steel interior portions, replacement of inconsistent patches, replacement of natural cracks with engineered spacing, and hand-brushed concrete recoating. The temporary building was budgeted at $270,000; the city spent a total of $450,000 on repair that year.

On April 19, 1999, the $1.6 million dollar, two-year phase two restoration began, scheduled for completion by May 2001. Five workers began repairing the cracks, killing biological growth, removing calcium deposits and pollution-blackened gypsum, and coating the 10000 sqft surface with a combination of lime putty, adobe cement and sand. The inoperable reflecting pool was not repaired in this phase.

Although the second phase was completed in 2001, it was not visible until the following year, when the temporary protective structure was unveiled. The repairs were expected to last about 30–50 years.

In 2003, the National Endowment for the Arts committed $250,000 to the Park District for the conservation and restoration of the reflecting pool. In 2004, the University of Chicago contributed $100,000 and the Park District Board $845,000 to repair the pool and its water circulation system. The repair occurred in the summer of 2005 at a slightly reduced budget, and the fountain was filled with water for the first time in over fifty years.

In 2007, efforts began to add lighting. The sculpture was nominated for the Chicagoland Initiative, a fund for the preservation of historic sites, backed by the National Trust for Historic Preservation and American Express. In a widely-publicized contest that included open houses events. $1 million was available for preservation efforts in the Chicago Area, but the fountain was not one of the 15 winning candidates.

Gallery
Below are pictures of the Fountain of Time taken in August 2007 (after restoration).