Buckingham fountain
Buckingham fountain is the “front door” of Chicago, it is located in Grant Park and is considered to be one of the biggest fountains in the world. The fountain’s official name is the Clarence Buckingham Memorial Fountain, and was donated to the city by Kate Sturges Buckingham in memory of her brother, Clarence Buckingham, in 1927.
Who created the main fountain of Chicago?
The construction of the landmark was led by its architect Edward H. Bennett. The design of the fountain was modeled after Latona Fountain in Paris, and the sculptures were created by the French sculptor Marcel F. Loyau. At the time the cost of its construction amounted to $750,000, and in order to pay for maintenance an endowment fund was established with an initial investment of 300 hundred thousand dollars.
The design and the symbols of the fountain
The main pool diameter is 84 metres, and the centre of the fountain is embellished with a three-tiered composition that is 7,5 metres high. Being constructed of pink marble it is a vivid example of rococo style, resembling a layered wedding cake. The centre of the fountain is crowned by four groups of sea horses. The fountain itself is the symbol of state Michigan, whereas the horses stand for its surrounding states.
The fountain has 134 jets, what’s more, the height of the central jet reaches 46 metres. The overall volume of water exceeds 5.5 million litres of water. The pumps are controlled by Honewell computers. They were initially located in Atlanta, Georgia, but later on, in 1994, were moved to Illinois.
What is so special about the landmark?
The fountain works from early morning to late night, and there is a light show in the evening made with 840 lights to the great joy of tourists.
A monitor that switches on every 20 minutes is installed under water in the fountain. The fountain does not operate in winter time, but in order to provide the visitors with amusement a fire festival is organised instead, shining in the dark of the surrounding areas and amazing everyone with a spectacular show.
A garden and a waterfall in the airport of Singapore
The best airport in the world for the benefit of the travellers created a five-storey garden and the tallest indoor waterfall. Singapore’s Changi Airport, which has been awarded the title of the best airport in the world seven years in a row, has opened its new record extension. CNA Yotube channel named it modern “Hanging gardens of Babylon”.
The extension building “Jewel” is a 10-storey complex with a garden, a hotel, and 300 hundred shops and restaurants. A half of the storeys were built underground, whereas the remaining five rise above the earth. Inside we find a breath-taking humongous indoor waterfall Rain Vortex, a five-storey indoor garden Forest Valley, and a recreation zone with rooftop gardens Canopy Park.
Source: https://planetofhotels.com/guide/ru/ssha/chikago/bukingemskiy-fontan