The Electric Fountain is a water fountain with

public art Public art is art in any media whose form, function and meaning are created for the general public through a public process. It is a specific art genre with its own professional and critical discourse. Public art is visually and physically acce ...

sculptures and evening lighting, surrounded by

mosaic A mosaic is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and were particularly pop ...

pavement, seating, and landscaping. It is located in

Beverly Gardens Park Beverly Gardens Park is a public park in Beverly Hills, California. History The land is built on a portion of Rancho Rodeo de las Aguas. It was opened in 1911. Overview Beverly Gardens Park is 22 block long and stretches along Santa Monica Boul ...

on the corner of

Santa Monica Santa Monica (; Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 U.S. Census population was 93,076. Santa Monica is a popular resort town, owing to i ...

and

Wilshire Boulevard Wilshire Boulevard is a prominent boulevard in the Los Angeles area of Southern California, extending from Ocean Avenue in the city of Santa Monica east to Grand Avenue in the Financial District of downtown Los Angeles. One of the principal ...

s in Beverly Hills, California.

The fountain

The two-level circular fountain includes a circular raised fountain spray area surrounded by a diameter pool. It was designed by architect

Ralph Carlin Flewelling Ralph Carlin Flewelling (May 4, 1894 – December 30, 1975) was an American architect. He designed many buildings in Los Angeles County, California. Early life Flewelling was born on May 4, 1894, in St. Louis, Michigan. His father was Ralph ...

in 1931, in partnership with sculptor

Robert Merrell Gage Robert Merrell Gage (December 26, 1892 – October 30, 1981) was an American sculptor, frequently credited or referred to as Merrell Gage. Biography Gage was born in Topeka, Kansas and studied in the Topeka public schools and at Washburn Universit ...

, who created the center sculpture and bas relief.

Public art components

The Electric Fountain contains several individual public art components. These components include sculpture, bas relief, mosaics, landscaping, and lighting program.

Sculpture

placed the granite sculpture of a

Tongva The Tongva ( ) are an Indigenous people of California from the Los Angeles Basin and the Southern Channel Islands, an area covering approximately . Some descendants of the people prefer Kizh as an endonym that, they argue, is more historically ...

Gabrieleno The Tongva ( ) are an Indigenous people of California from the Los Angeles Basin and the Southern Channel Islands, an area covering approximately . Some descendants of the people prefer Kizh as an endonym that, they argue, is more historically ...

tribe member, kneeling in prayer, on a stone column. According to Peter James Holliday, the image was "said to be modeled after Gradin Newsom, who was part

Cherokee The Cherokee (; chr, ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯᎢ, translit=Aniyvwiyaʔi or Anigiduwagi, or chr, ᏣᎳᎩ, links=no, translit=Tsalagi) are one of the indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, t ...

". The sculpture sits in the center of the smaller circular raised fountain.

Bas relief

The sides of the circular raised stone fountain are carved with high bas relief sculptures by

as a companion piece to the Tongva/Gabrieleno tribe member sculpture. The bas relief images depict scenes of the area's early history and development.

Ceramic tile and mosaic pavement

The surrounding diameter pool is edged with ceramic tile. Terra cotta mosaic pavement tiles show images from the early history of the area and the founding of the city.

Landscaping and lighting program

Landscaping and benches surround the pool and have been modified throughout the decades. The most recent addition to the Electric Fountain was the multi-colored nighttime lighting program for the pool, fountain, and sculpture. Installed in 2016, the lighting program made the Electric Fountain highly visible after dark.

History

The fountain was a gift to the City of Beverly Hills from Sarah Elizabeth (Fraser) Lloyd, mother of silent-screen actor

Harold Lloyd Harold Clayton Lloyd, Sr. (April 20, 1893 – March 8, 1971) was an American actor, comedian, and stunt performer who appeared in many silent comedy films.Obituary '' Variety'', March 10, 1971, page 55. One of the most influential film c ...

in 1931, and the original installation was funded by the Beverly Hills Women's Club. It was built on land donated by the Rodeo Land and Water Company.Wanamaker, Marc. ''Beverly Hills: 1930-2005'', Mount Pleasant, South Carolina: Arcadia Publishing, p. 9 In 2014-2015, Chinese businessman

Wang Jianlin Wang Jianlin (; born 24 October 1954) is a Chinese business magnate, investor and philanthropist. He is the founder of Dalian Wanda Group, China's largest real estate development company, and the world's largest movie theater operator. He previo ...

donated US$200,000 for the restoration of the fountain,City to Honor Wanda Group For Generous Fountain Restoration Gift
''

The Beverly Hills Courier ''The Beverly Hills Courier'' is a free weekly tabloid-sized print newspaper of circulation in Beverly Hills and the surrounding communities, and a daily web newspaper. History The publication was founded by March Schwartz in 1965. His staff incl ...

'', March 23, 2015 and in 2016 the fountain, sculptures, and surrounding public space received a major restoration and renovation. It was featured in the 1995 movie ''

Clueless ''Clueless'' is a 1995 American coming-of-age teen comedy film written and directed by Amy Heckerling. It stars Alicia Silverstone with supporting roles by Stacey Dash, Brittany Murphy and Paul Rudd. It was produced by Scott Rudin and Robert ...

''Seeing Stars: Beverly Gardens Park
and

The Go-Go's The Go-Go's are an American Rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1978. Except for short periods when other musicians joined briefly, the band has had a relatively stable lineup consisting of Charlotte Caffey on lead guitar and keyboar ...

1981 music video for "

Our Lips Are Sealed "Our Lips Are Sealed" is a song co-written by Jane Wiedlin, guitarist of the Go-Go's, and Terry Hall, singer of the Specials and Fun Boy Three. It was first recorded by the Go-Go's as the opening track on their album '' Beauty and the Beat'' ...

References

{{coord, 34.06707, -118.410419, region:US_type:landmark, display=title Fountains in California Beverly Hills, California 1931 sculptures Concrete sculptures in California Terracotta sculptures in the United States 1931 establishments in California Sculptures of Native Americans