Forgive the almost two week absence from the blog. I have what I think is an excellent excuse. I have been exploring parks and other landscapes all over the city for a freelance writing gig. I'll share with you the er, fruits of my labor once they get approved by the client. In the meantime, I have been writing like a madwoman. And I have a few more days of happy madwoman writing and research to get through. I have learned so much history and wonderful back stories about some of our most amazing parks and landscapes and architects and designers. I've both discovered and learned about murals and sculptures and monuments and fountains. I even spent a very cold Spring day at a cemetery and did not want to leave.
I have a feeling I won't duck back in here until the project is done and Easter has come and gone. Before I go, I thought I'd share one quick story from a sculpture, so you get a sense of the delight I've experienced as I've worked on this project. When I first saw the sculpture about 10 days ago, I was mainly tickled by the star on the goddess' head. And I was intrigued by the fact that is said "San Francisco, CA" on the back of the statue. It wasn't until I met with park district historian Julia Bachrach did I learn the story of how the fountain came to be. So here you go.
Just to get you oriented, the Rosenberg Fountain sits in the southwest corner of Grant Park near Michigan Avenue and Roosevelt Road. It's over by the Agora installation, you know, the sea of giant bronze legs. They get a lot of play, those trippy torso-less legs (with good reason) but this one, not so much.
Jospeh Rosenberg grew up on the south side and worked as a newsboy. During the summers he could never convince shop owners to give him a drink of water. Hot and thirsty, he vowed that he ever became wealthy he would erect a public fountain so that no newsboy would have to go without a cool drink of water. He later moved to San Francisco, California and made a fortune -- doing what I haven't figured out yet. He kept his promise and had this fountain created in Munich and shipped to Chicago.
You can read more about the fountain here. It is no longer a working fountain but hey, it's still a good story. I'll be back in about a week. Inspired by Mr. Rosenberg, I'll try and keep my promise.
