User:Autopilot/Dupont Circle Fountain

Fountain in Dupont Circle

TODO: Overview of the fountain and area

Original Statue

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TODO: Find a better photo of the original fountain

In 1871, the Army Corps of Engineers began construction of the traffic circle, then called Pacific Circle, as specified in L'Enfant's plan. On February 25, 1882, Congress renamed the circle to Dupont Circle, and authorized a memorial statue of Samuel Francis Du Pont, in recognition of his service as a rear admiral during the Civil War. The statue, sculpted by Launt Thompson, was erected in 1884, and the circle was landscaped with exotic flowers and ornamental trees[1][2].

The replacement fountain

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TODO: Merge these into one image

In 1921, the current double-tiered white marble fountain replaced the statue, which was moved to Rockford Park in Wilmington, Delaware.[3] Daniel Chester French and architect Henry Bacon, the co-creators of the Lincoln Memorial, designed the fountain, which features carvings of three classical nudes symbolizing the sea, the stars and the wind on the fountain's shaft.[1]

The fountain today

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Constantine Seferlis restored and renovated the fountain[4].

TODO: Water schedule? When on and off?

TODO: Pictures of protests at the fountain

TODO: Chess players

References

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The statues symbolizing the stars (left) and the sea (right)
  1. ^ a b "Dupont Circle Hisoric District". National Park Service. Retrieved 2008-06-12.
  2. ^ Paul Kelsey Williams (2000). Dupont Circle. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 0738506338.
  3. ^ "Scenes from the Past" (PDF). The InTowner. March 2004. p. 12.
  4. ^ "Cathedral Sculptor Constantine L. Seferlis Dies". The Washington Post. 2005-04-03. Retrieved 2009-01-23.