In the downtown area of Madison, Indiana, sits an extraordinary structure that seems to capture attention from all walks of life. The Broadway Fountain was created by a French artist named J.P. Victor Andre. Andre obviously knew what he was doing when he was asked to construct this fountain because of the impressive composition it has and with its mesmerizing size. “Some have suggested that Andre’s neo-classical design was inspired by the famous fountain in Place-de-la-Concord in Paris, or by a fountain exhibited at the Crystal Palace Exhibition in London in 1851” (Wright).
“The fountain came to grace Madison’s Broadway Street in 1886, thanks to an organization known as the Independent Order of Odd Fellows” (Wright). The group was finally able to buy the fountain and get it moved to the location of choice, which was then and is still to this day in the middle of the inner city of Madison, Indiana.
After the purchase of the fountain, a newspaper article actually revealed that the fountain was a present for the town of Madison in the year of 1884. “Around the same time that the fountain appeared in Madison, four duplicate fountains had been created by JKI Co. and shipped to various parts of the United States and overseas” (Wright). Not only was the fountain appreciated by Madison, but it appears that it was also appreciated in other places as well. It is not surprising considering the fountain’s unique structure that other places would want something just as similar.
According to an article from the National Park Services’ Web site, “The original Broadway Fountain stood in the middle of Broadway for almost 100 years before it was dismantled and replaced with the 1981 bronze copy or reproduction” (“Broadway Fountain”). Followin...
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... this fountain’s magnificence and beauty. There is wonderful and interesting history attached to it as well. The Broadway Fountain is sure to give all who see it a pleasant feeling.
Works Cited
"Attractions and Scenic Routes Broadway Fountain." Visit Madison. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 March 2014.
"Broadway Fountain." National Park Service. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 March 2014.
Druzgal, Marla. “Madison Goodbye, Part 2.” Travelingmarla. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 March 2014.
Kummer, Tony. "Madison's Golden Age Starts Today." Madisonindiana. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 March 2014.
"Meet Me Downtown!" Madison Indiana: Old-Madison Downtown and the River Front. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Mar. 2014.
Wright, Ruth. "Madison's' Broadway Fountain Has a Unique but Little Known History City Officials Pursue Options or Repairs." Round About Madison. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 March 2014
The original cast iron Broadway Fountain, formerly known as No. 5, appeared in the New York Janes, Kirtland and Co. catalog at the listing price of two thousand five hundred dollars. The same company was also credited for the creation of the Dome Capital in Washington, D.C. The fountain was approximately twenty-seven feet high and thirty-six feet wide. It was comprised of two tiered basins with four tritons surrounding the base layer. The middle layer had two large birds. A robed female sat on the top of the fountain holding a rod. The fountain also had a reflecting pool with several pots along the pinnacle partition. The fountain appeared in the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Exposition in the Agriculture Nave. Several years after the exposition ended, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows purchased the fountain for the city of Madison, Indiana in August 1884 for one thousand two hundred forty dollars. “There were four or five Odd Fellow Lodges in Madison at that time, and they all pulled together and had it shipped (here),” said Paul Yount (as cited in Wright). The original intended purpose of the fountain was a drinking fountain, but its purpose eventually cha...
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