Nicholas J Melas Centennial Fountain is located on the north bank of the

Chicago River The Chicago River is a system of rivers and canals with a combined length of that runs through the city of Chicago, including its center (the Chicago Loop). Though not especially long, the river is notable because it is one of the reasons for ...

at McClurg Court in

Near North Side, Chicago The Near North Side is the eighth of Chicago's 77 community areas. It is the northernmost of the three areas that constitute central Chicago, the others being the Loop and the Near South Side. The community area is located north and east of the ...

. It was dedicated in 1989, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the

Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago The Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRD), originally known as the Sanitary District of Chicago, is a special-purpose district chartered to operate in Cook County, Illinois since 1889. Although its name may imply other ...

, perhaps best known for its major achievement in reversing the flow of the Chicago River in 1900; and in 1999, this system was named a "Civil Engineering Monument of the Millennium" by the

American Society of Civil Engineers American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

(ASCE).

History

As the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Chicago was soon to celebrate its 100-year anniversary, its architects came up with building a fountain along the Chicago River. They designed a fountain that includes a sculptural sun dial along the side of the river. The fountain opened in 1989. The fountain was named after Nicholas J. Melas who was elected in 1962 to the district's Board of Commissioners. Melas was re-elected five times, serving for thirty years -- the last eighteen as President of the Board. The fountain's controls were damaged by flooding in May 2020, and after extensive design and engineering, work to refurbish the fountain began in 2022. The fountain is expected to reopen in 2025.

Features

The fountain designed by Lohan Associates, every hour, on the hour, shoots a large eighty-foot water arc across the river from a modernist tiered waterfall. The waterfall and the water cannon both operate from 8:00am to 11:00pm every day in the warm months.

References

External links

Metropolitan Water Reclamation District

Buildings and structures in Chicago Central Chicago Fountains in Illinois {{Chicago-struct-stub