Clarence Buckingham Memorial Fountain

One of the loveliest spots in one of Chicago's loveliest parks, Buckingham Fountain is the centerpiece of Grant Park, and it has also become one of its most recognizable landmarks in the city. Kate Buckingham dedicated the structure (and a trust fund to cover any fountain repair and upkeep) to the people of Chicago in 1927 in memory of her late brother, Clarence.

Edward Bennett designed the fountain to represent Lake Michigan, with four sea horses to symbolize the four states that touch the lake. It was patterned after the Latona Basin in Louis XIV's gardens at Versailles, but it was twice as large. It's large enough, in fact, to spout water 150 feet high, while circulating 14,000 gallons of water per minute.

The fountain's beauty and its size are further enhanced by it's ethereal dancing lights. Kate Buckingham wanted "soft moonlight" waltzing through the fount, and she worked many nights with technicians, testing colors, filters and currents to produce the mystical water and lights show that can be seen after dusk from late Spring through mid-Fall.