Chicago West - Wicker Park / Gurgolye Fountain Court

 

Wicker Park Gurgolye Fountain

Wicker Park - Gurgolye Fountain 

Created: 1892 

In 1908, it was removed by Jen Jensen, 

and was replaced by a wading pool for children.

Replica of the original fountain was installed in 2002

Dedicated by the Mayor on May 11, 2002

Location: Wicker Park

1425 N. Damen Avenue, Chicago, IL 60622

The West Park Commissioners commissioned the original Gurgoyle Fountain in Wicker Park in the mid-1890s. The fountain was created by J.L.Mott Ironwork.  The company was later bought by Robinson Iron Company of Alexander City, Alabama. The Robinson Iron firm was able to find some original molds which were used to cast the current Wicker Park Fountain.

It was named Gurgoyle Fountain because of the small gargoyle faces that spouted water.

In 1908, the fountain was remopved and replaced by wading pool for children.

In 2002, a replica of the fountain was installed by Robinson Iron. The replica was cast from the original fountain molds.

Chicago West - Garfield Park / Lincoln, The Railsplitter (1911) - by Charles J. Mulligan

Lincoln, the Railsplitter

Lincoln, The Railsplitter - by Charles J. Mulligan

1911

Location: Garfield Park /

Northwest corner of Washington and Central Park Blvd.

The sculpture was commissioned by the West Park Commission, which was a precursor to the Chacago Park District. 

The sculpture "Lincoln, the Railsplitter" depicts a young Abraham Lincoln, who worked hard to rise from humble beginnings to become a great president.

The sculptor Charles Mulligan was an Irish immigrant who worked as a stone cutter before becoming an artist. He studied at the Art Institute of Chicago and the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris. He also worked as an assistant in the Chicagho studio of Lorado Taft. Mulligan also created the William McKinley Monument. 

Chicago West - Garfield Park Conservatory / Pastoral and Idyll - By Lorado Taft





Pastoral and Idyll - by Lorado Taft

1913 / Marble

Location: Garfield Park Conservatory

Lorado Taft originally crafted this pair of sculptures in plaster for the 1909 art exhibition in Garfield park Garden. in 1908 they were on temporary display in Humboldt Park Rose Garden.  The sculptural groups were so liked by the public that the West Park Board commissioned Lorado Taft to create a permanent marble version of them. 

Chicago West - Garfield Park Conservatory / Bulls with Maidens - by Daniel Chester French and Edward Potter

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Bulls with Maidens

- by Daniel Chester French (Female figures) and Edward Potter (Bulls)

Also known as statues of Plenty

The Bulls with Maidens sculptures were commissioned for the 1893 World's Coluimbian Exposition.  The sculptures were originally made of plaster and stood in front of the Agriculture Building at the World's Fair. The public were so taken by the sculptures that the West Park Commissioners decided to cast them in bronze in 1912.

The female figure, represent Ceres, the Roman Goddess of grains. There is a companion sculpture of an Indian American maiden, holding stalks of corns.

The Garfield Park Conservatory website does not have any information on these sculptures. A great resource is the book, "A Guide to Chicago's Public Sculptures", by Ira J.Bach and Mary Lackritz Gray..

It informs that these bronze sculptures were cast from salvaged working models of sculptures designed for the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893. These were placed in front of the Fair's Agriculture Building. Directly across was the Manufacturers Building, were companion groups of horses and male figures, a farmer and a teamster, representing labor, were installed. These were also by the same sculptures, French and Potter.

French and Potter collaborated on several works including the George Washington Monument in Chicago and the General Ulysses S. Grant Monument in Philadelphia.

Chicago - Grant Park / Figure Fountains: Crane Girl, Fisher Boy, Dove Girl and Turtle Boy - by Leonard Crunelle

Dove Girl

Four Figure Fountains: 

Dove Girl, Turtle Boy, Crane Girl, Fisher Boy 

- by Leonard Crunelle

On the north and south of the Clarence Buckingham Memorial Fountain are the rose gardens. These rose gardens have four circular fountains with bronze figures installed in the center of each

The South Rose Garden has Dove Girl and Turtle Boy 

The North Rose Garden has Crane Girl and Fisher Boy

Location: Grant Park Rose Gardens
East of S. Columbus Dr. (301 E) north and south of E. Congress Pkwy. (500 S)
Chicago, IL 60605