Michigan Avenue - Niche Media - Michigan Avenue magazine is a luxury lifestyle magazine centered around Chicago’s finest people, events, fashion, health & beauty, fine dining & more!
Issue link: http://digital.greengale.com/i/61757
F ront Runners Miss Chicago 1964 standing on the roof of the Buckingham Fountain's pump room. down by the water ALONG WITH SHOWERS AND FLOWERS, SPRING KICKS OFF ANOTHER STORIED TRADITION IN CHICAGO. by elle eichinger I n 1927, architect Edward Bennett, sculptor Marcel Francois Loyau (who created the four bronze sea horses to represent Lake Michigan's bordering states), and engineer Jacques H. Lambert collaborated to create a land- mark that withstood the test of time. Their project was Chicago's iconic Clarence F. Buckingham Memorial Fountain in Grant Park, fully controlled from an underground pump room. Inside the tiny room, beneath a nar- row basement window, men working 12-hour shifts manipulated a series of knobs and levers to transform the fountain into a picturesque display of light and music at the top of every hour. Though it has been fully computerized since 1980, the 85-year-old landmark still runs these hourly shows, which include 1.5 million gallons of recycled water erupting into a 150-foot plume (courtesy of 134 jets, and three incred- ibly powerful pumps) and a show featuring 820 lights. The water and light spectacles kick off in April, signaling the unofficial start of spring in Chicago. Like any octogenarian, the fountain has felt the effects of old age in the form of rusting pipes and cracking Georgia pink marble. Over the past few years, hundreds of people and organizations such as the Parkways Foundation, the Art Institute, and even Lollapalooza have worked together in a multiphase restoration of the foun- tain, hosting galas, fun runs, and other fundraisers that help prepare Buckingham Fountain for another 85 years as the pumping heart of Chicago. Buckingham Fountain operates from mid-April through mid-October (the exact dates are weather-dependent). A 20- minute water display occurs every hour from 8 am–10:45 pm, with light and music displays beginning at dusk each night. Visit chicagoparkdistrict.com. ma 16 michiganavemag.com photography courtesy of chicago park district