Fountain Square is a

city square A town square (or public square, urban square, city square or simply square), also called a plaza or piazza, is an open public space commonly found in the heart of a traditional town or city, and which is used for community gatherings. Rel ...

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

, United States. Founded in 1871, it was renovated in 1971 and 2005 and currently features many shops, restaurants, hotels, and offices.

History

Indian mound Many pre-Columbian cultures in North America were collectively termed "Mound Builders", but the term has no formal meaning. It does not refer to specific people or archaeological culture but refers to the characteristic mound earthworks that in ...

stood at the present site of Fountain Square when the first white settlers arrived. Fountain Square has been the symbolic center of Cincinnati since 1871. The square, which replaced a butcher's market, was a gift from Henry Probasco in memory of his business partner and brother-in-law, Tyler Davidson. Probasco traveled to

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

and commissioned a bronze allegorical fountain from Ferdinand von Miller named The Genius of Water. Originally, the square occupied a large island in the middle of Fifth Street with buildings to the north and south, much like nearby

Piatt Park Piatt Park (est. 1817) is the oldest park in Cincinnati, Ohio. The urban park stretches two blocks between Elm Street and Vine Street, Cincinnati, Vine Street on Garfield Place/8th Street. The park is owned and maintained by the Cincinnati Park B ...

. A 1971 renovation of the square included slightly moving and re-orienting the fountain to the west, and enlarging the plaza by removing the original westbound portion of 5th Street and demolishing buildings to the north. It is used for lunch-breaks, rallies, and other gatherings. The Fountain can be seen in the opening credits on ''

WKRP in Cincinnati ''WKRP in Cincinnati'' is an American sitcom television series about the misadventures of the staff of a struggling fictional AM radio station in Cincinnati, Ohio. The show was created by Hugh Wilson. It was based upon his experiences obs ...

'' In the early 2000s, the square was completely renovated and re-designed by 3cdc and BHDP Architecture (consulted by

Cooper, Robertson & Partners Cooper Robertson is an international architecture and urban design firm, headquartered in New York City. It was founded in 1979 by Alex Cooper (architect), Alex Cooper and Jaquelin T. Robertson. History Cooper Robertson was founded in 1979, by ...

and

OLIN Olin may refer to: People Organizations * OLIN, American landscape architecture firm * Olin Business School at Washington University in St. Louis * Olin College, an undergraduate engineering college in Massachusetts * Olin Corporation, a chem ...

) to attract more visitors to the city, and to serve as a cultural/recreational hub for the city. In addition to the renovations, many buildings in and around the Fountain Square district are currently being renovated and redesigned. The Fountain itself was completely restored and moved to a more central location in the square.

Tyler Davidson Fountain

After the death of his brother-in-law and business partner Tyler Davidson, Cincinnati businessman Henry Probasco went to Munich, Germany in search of a suitable memorial to him. Many years before, artist August von Kreling had collaborated with Ferdinand von Miller at the Royal Bronze Foundry of Bavaria to design a fountain. Probasco requested the addition of four figures with animals that would act as drinking fountains, which Miller's sons designed.

Events

Fountain Square has many events all through the week including speeches, games, movies, concerts, giveaways, and festivals. The square also has many seasonal events such as Halloween on the square, the ice rink,

Oktoberfest Oktoberfest (; ) is the world's largest , featuring a beer festival and a travelling carnival, and is held annually in Munich, Bavaria, from mid- or late-September to the first Sunday in October. The annual event attracts more than seven milli ...

(largest outside of Germany) and more. To celebrate the 40th anniversary of

Earth Day Earth Day is an annual event on April 22 to demonstrate support for environmental protection. First held on April 22, 1970, it now includes a wide range of events coordinated globally through earthday.org (formerly Earth Day Network) includin ...

2010, the square featured "EcoSculpt 2010", an exhibit of

sustainable art Sustainability is a social goal for people to co-exist on Earth over a long period of time. Definitions of this term are disputed and have varied with literature, context, and time. Sustainability usually has three dimensions (or pillars): env ...

. The exhibit included "Atlas Recycled" by Tom Tsuchiya, a sculpture made of used atlases that doubled as a recycling receptacle for plastic bottles and aluminum cans.Bishop, Lauren. "Art for Earth's Sake." The Enquirer. April 10, 2010.

Fountain Square District

The Fountain Square District is becoming a restaurant and entertainment hub. It contains many offices, hotels, specialty shops and restaurants. ;Office: *

Fifth Third Bank Fifth Third Bancorp is a bank holding company headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. It is the parent company of Fifth Third Bank (5/3 Bank), which operates 1,100 branches and 2,400 automated teller machines, which are located in 11 states: Oh ...

Headquarters * Macy's, Inc. *

U.S. Bancorp U.S. Bancorp (stylized as us bancorp) is an American multinational financial services firm headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota and incorporated in Delaware. It is the 5th-largest bank in the United States as of 2025. As the largest bank i ...

* Great American Insurance Group Headquarters * Carew Tower — Art Deco hi-rise containing office space and a public observation deck

References

External links