Nearly 50 fountains will come back to life for Greater KC Fountain Day
By Zoe Brown
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KANSAS CITY, Missouri (KCTV) — If you have missed a clear, visual reminder why KCMO is called the “City of Fountains,” then you’re in luck.
Tuesday, April 19, is Greater Kansas City Fountain Day! That means nearly 50 publicly-operated fountains around the city will be turned back on.
According to Visit KC, the city’s first fountains came to exist for practical needs such as watering thirsty horses and dogs. There were soon drinking fountains for humans that had their own decorative styles and themes, however, including sculptures.
In 1973, a Hallmark executive and his spouse decided to create the City of Fountains Foundation after seeing so many worn down fountains during a trip to Italy. Their goal was to restore, build, and maintain the fountains here.
Now, there are more than 200 fountains across the metro and 48 are publicly-owned.
Greater Kansas City Fountain Day is celebrated annually in early April, with the fountains being safely turned back on following the bitter cold of winter.
If you’d like to celebrate Fountain Day in person, an event will be held Tuesday at 10 a.m. at the Northland Fountain in Anita Gorman Park. That’s located at NE Vivion Road and N. Oak Trafficway. The event will also honor Mrs. Anita B. Gorman and feature a performance from Starlight Theatre.
According to the American Academy for Park and Recreation Administration, the first fountain in Kansas City north of the Missouri River was built in Anita Gorman Park. If you wish, you can learn more about her online.
Below are five fountains that Visit KC chose to list as “exemplary examples of the metro region’s undeniable beauty:”
The Fountain in Mill Creek Park, which is near the Country Club Plaza and was brought to KC from Paris in 1951. The Firefighters Fountain and Memorial, which was dedicated in 1991 to honor six firefighters who lost their lives in a tragic accident. The Henry Wollman Bloch Fountain, which is right in front of Union Station. It has 232 water jets that provide a choreographed show every hour and half-hour! The Crown Center Square Fountain, which is popular with young people. The Fountain Basin at The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. For this, its marble bowl was purchased in Italy in 1931. However, it dates back to 220 A.D. The pedestal was then installed in 1933, which completed the centerpiece for Rozzelle Court when the museum opened that year.
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