Horse Show Fountain
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Horse Show Fountain, also known as the Wright-Bock Fountain, is located in the
Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...
suburb of
Oak Park, Illinois Oak Park is a village in Cook County, Illinois, adjacent to Chicago. It is the 29th-most populous municipality in Illinois with a population of 54,583 as of the 2020 U.S. Census estimate. Oak Park was first settled in 1835 and later incorporated ...
,
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
. The
fountain A fountain, from the Latin "fons" (genitive "fontis"), meaning source or spring, is a decorative reservoir used for discharging water. It is also a structure that jets water into the air for a decorative or dramatic effect. Fountains were ori ...
, first erected in 1909, has been widely attributed to both sculptor
Richard Bock Richard W. Bock (July 16, 1865 – 1949) was an American sculptor and associate of Frank Lloyd Wright. He was particularly known for his sculptural decorations for architecture and military memorials,Lorado Taft''The History of American Sculptur ...
and architect
Frank Lloyd Wright Frank Lloyd Wright (June 8, 1867 – April 9, 1959) was an American architect, designer, writer, and educator. He designed more than 1,000 structures over a creative period of 70 years. Wright played a key role in the architectural movements o ...
. Though the fountain currently stands at the corner of Oak Park Avenue and Lake Street within Scoville Park, neither the fountain nor the location is original. Its original location was 100 ft (30 m) from its present location, and the fountain was completely reconstructed in 1969 to replace the badly deteriorated original. The Scoville Park is listed as a historic district in the U.S.
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...
, but the fountain – because it is a replica – is considered a non-contributing property to the listing.


History

The Wright-Bock Fountain was originally built by the Oak Park Horse Show Association in 1909 and located on the curb of Lake Street, 100 feet (30.48 m) from its present location. The fountain was built to serve not only people but horses and dogs as well. The fountain's design is generally believed to be a product of sculptor
Richard Bock Richard W. Bock (July 16, 1865 – 1949) was an American sculptor and associate of Frank Lloyd Wright. He was particularly known for his sculptural decorations for architecture and military memorials,Lorado Taft''The History of American Sculptur ...
but the actual attribution is a bit fuzzy. Donald P. Hallmark, a Bock historian, stated the fountain was designed by Bock between 1907 and 1908 but with the help of famous architect
Frank Lloyd Wright Frank Lloyd Wright (June 8, 1867 – April 9, 1959) was an American architect, designer, writer, and educator. He designed more than 1,000 structures over a creative period of 70 years. Wright played a key role in the architectural movements o ...
. Bock did much of Wright's architectural
sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable ...
and worked, for a time, in Wright's studio in Oak Park as well.Robert C. Twombly
''Frank Lloyd Wright: His Life and His Architecture''
Consulted on August 14, 2007.
It was Bock himself who suggested that it was Wright who pushed for the central opening in the fountain, and thus he "began to lay claim to the whole project."''National Register Nomination Form'', p. 20. The Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation claims the work as a Wright design from 1903.Frank Lloyd Wright works 1903–1904
," ''Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation''. Retrieved 6 June 2007.
The Frank Lloyd Wright Trust lists Wright as the architect and Bock as the sculptor.Frank Lloyd Wright Architectural Guide Map, ''Frank Lloyd Wright Preservation Trust''. In 1969 the badly deteriorated original fountain was reconstructed, with the replica placed in Scoville Park at the corner of Oak Park Ave. and Lake Street in Oak Park. Its new location was an area paved with brick and flanked by
concrete Concrete is a composite material composed of fine and coarse aggregate bonded together with a fluid cement (cement paste) that hardens (cures) over time. Concrete is the second-most-used substance in the world after water, and is the most wid ...
benches.Horse Show (Horseshoe) Fountain
" ''Oak Park Tourist''. Excerpted from: Sprague, Paul E. ''Guide to Frank Lloyd Wright & Prarire School Architecture in Oak Park'' Oak Park Bicentennial Commission of the American Revolution ndOak Park Landmarks Commission, Village of Oak Park: 1986, (). Retrieved June 6, 2007.
During the reconstruction the original materials that comprised the fountain were replaced in their entirety. The poured concrete elements of the fountain were replaced with a concrete that had a rough aggregate finish. The reconstruction work was overseen by the Oak Park Beautification Commission. John Michiels, an architect with Perkins and Will, designed the reconstruction while local sculptor Gerald Jaquard replicated Bock's
relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term '' relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that th ...
work. Alterations on the original design included lining the planters with
zinc Zinc is a chemical element with the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. Zinc is a slightly brittle metal at room temperature and has a shiny-greyish appearance when oxidation is removed. It is the first element in group 12 (IIB) of the periodi ...
and the installation of the
recessed light A recessed light or downlight (also pot light in Canadian English, sometimes can light (for canister light) in American English) is a light fixture that is installed into a hollow opening in a ceiling. When installed it appears to have light shi ...
s. During the reconstruction, the original inscription (from the original fountain on the facade that now bears the reconstruction-dedication panel) was lost to history.''National Register Nomination Form'', pp. 20–21.


Design

The fountain's rectangular, concrete slab construction has a strong horizontal emphasis. Two
vertical Vertical is a geometric term of location which may refer to: * Vertical direction, the direction aligned with the direction of the force of gravity, up or down * Vertical (angles), a pair of angles opposite each other, formed by two intersecting s ...
slabs act as posts that support a rectangular lintel above, which extends beyond the edges of the posts. The lintel itself acts as a planter. At the base of the fountain a concrete wall extends between the vertical posts. Above the wall is another horizontal slab which acts as the fountain and features the same design as the upper horizontal slab. To either side of the fountain, at its base, are two concrete pools which have since been converted into
flower bed Raised-bed gardening is a form of gardening in which the soil is raised above ground level and usually enclosed in some way. Raised bed structures can be made of wood, rock, concrete or other materials, and can be of any size or shape. The soil is ...
s. The center opening, above the fountain, is adorned with cast concrete panels which contain Bock sculpture and dedications. Ornamentation of the concrete slabs is rather limited and exists only in incised
triangle A triangle is a polygon with three edges and three vertices. It is one of the basic shapes in geometry. A triangle with vertices ''A'', ''B'', and ''C'' is denoted \triangle ABC. In Euclidean geometry, any three points, when non- colline ...
s and slanted rectangles at the rear and front of the lintel, and incised
pyramid A pyramid (from el, πυραμίς ') is a structure whose outer surfaces are triangular and converge to a single step at the top, making the shape roughly a pyramid in the geometric sense. The base of a pyramid can be trilateral, quadrilat ...
s at the front and rear of the fountain tray. Above the fountain, are inscriptions and detailed
ornamentation An ornament is something used for decoration. Ornament may also refer to: Decoration *Ornament (art), any purely decorative element in architecture and the decorative arts *Biological ornament, a characteristic of animals that appear to serve on ...
. The inscriptions are located on concrete panels above the fountain tray, one reads "Erected in 1909 Oak Park Horse Show Association" and the other reads "Wright-Bock Plaza Fountain restored 1969." The Horse Show Association inscription is on a sculpted plaque held by two kneeling female forms, below the plaque is a tree trunk and above it the tree's leaves. Beneath the dedication panels are recessed lights which illuminate the fountain tray and cast tablets on the inner portion of the vertical posts.


See also

*
List of Frank Lloyd Wright works Frank Lloyd Wright designed over 425 houses, commercial buildings and other works. "The 20th-Century Architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright" is a UNESCO World Heritage Site consisting of a selection of eight buildings across the United States designe ...
*
Oak Park and River Forest High School , motto_translation = Those things that are best , address = 201 N. Scoville Avenue , location = , region = , town = Oak Park , county = , state ...
*
Oak Park Conservatory Oak Park Conservatory is a conservatory and botanical garden located at 615 Garfield Street in the Chicago suburb of Oak Park, Illinois, United States. It is open daily with restricted hours; admission is free, but a donation is suggested. Histo ...
* Scoville Park


References

*Heinz, Thomas A. ''The Vision of Frank Lloyd Wright'', Chartwell Books, Inc., Edison, New Jersey: 2006, pp. 288–89, . *  National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form, HAARGIS Database, ''Illinois Historic Preservation Agency''. Retrieved June 6, 2007. *William Allin Storrer, ''The Frank Lloyd Wright Companion''. University of Chicago Press, 2006, , (S.094)


Notes

{{coord, 41.888757, -87.794679, display=title 1909 sculptures Oak Park, Illinois Frank Lloyd Wright buildings Buildings and structures in Cook County, Illinois Fountains in Illinois