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| Fountain as it is today in Liberty Park |
Originally it was located in front of the Salt Lake City Public Library (now O. C. Tanner building at 15 S State St). It was donated to Salt Lake City by the SLC chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR).
The fountain was designed by the son of a local DAR member who was an art student at Princeton. It was then made in Vermont at a cost of $650 (about $19K in 2020 dollars). It is made of Gray Vermont Granite with the emblems of the DAR on two sides. On the other two sides read: “Erected by the Spirit of Liberty Chapter, D. A. R.” and “D. A. R., designed by W. M. Allen.” Cups were supplied to dip into the water trough and a separate drinking trough for dogs is at the base.
It was dedicated on Nov 18 1905 with much ceremony and the Fort Douglas regimental band provided music.
Unfortunately, things went downhill from there. Shortly after the fountain had been installed one of the pipes burst and the fountain sat idle for months because of a dispute between the plumber and the City.
In June 1908 the City determined that the plumbing design was defective and the water bowl of insufficient depth. The DAR intended to repair the fountain but enough funds were never raised.
By July 1910 the fountain still had not been fixed and the SLC Committee on Sanitation recommended that the fountain be shut off permanently.
In Nov 1921 the fountain had fallen into further disrepair and the City Commission decided to move it to Liberty Park. Plans were made to reconstruct it and to make it a bird and dog fountain but, true to its past, enough funds were never raised and it was never repaired.
Today it remains a civic ornament and is on display in a flower bed at Liberty Park.
Sources: DAR Magazine V28 and various historic newspaper articles.
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| Fountain as it is today in Liberty Park |
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| Fountain as it is today in Liberty Park |
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| Fountain as it is today in Liberty Park |
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| Fountain as it appeared just after installation in 1905, from UDSH. |
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| Fountain as it appeared just after installation in 1905. From DAR Magazine V28 3 |
Update April 5 2021:
The Utah State Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution have a blog post about this fountain.
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