Buckingham Fountain under construction in 1926. The fountain was dedicated at a grand ceremony in August 1927.
Workers mount one of the four sets of bronze sea horses during the construction of Buckingham Fountain in 1926. The fountain was dedicated at a grand ceremony in August 1927, an event of enormous civic pride.
Buckingham Fountain under construction in 1926. The fountain was dedicated at a grand ceremony in August 1927.
Workers mount one of bronze sea horse statues during construction of Buckingham Fountain, circa 1926. The fountain was dedicated at a grand ceremony in August 1927.
James Ely, operator of Buckingham Fountain, fills an oil reservoir May 18, 1945, on a giant 250 horsepower motor, which pulls one of two pumps. The pumps are capable of an output of 15,000 gallons of water per minute. Engineers tested the fountain in preparation for that Sunday’s opening.
The Marcellus Golden Girls of the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus as they danced on Aug. 10, 1933, at Buckingham Fountain in Grant Park.
William Lavelle and Mrs. Charles Shimek at the board that controls the lighting system for Buckingham Fountain on July 7, 1938.
Buckingham Fountain in 1935 in Grant Park.
Performers Lorraine DeChant, Miriam Henry, Mary DeChant, Joan Griffin, Eleanor Shettler, Katherine Nassem and Lillian Dean rehearse for the Fountain Dance Pageant at Buckingham Fountain. More than 300 girls and young women rehearsed July 15, 1936, for the pageant. The “Enchanted Fountain” performance would take place two days later for three nights, a symphony of dance and colored lights in which the girls actually danced in the fountain basin and at the base of the structure. Much of the dance took place in the water jet area with performers wearing silk, rubber and cellophane waterproof costumes.
People seek relief from the heat at Buckingham Fountain in Grant Park, with the spray cooling the air on July 24. Year unknown.
An unusual reflection scene looking across Buckingham Fountain in Grant Park in 1946. It’s unusual, the caretaker says, because the water seldom is as mirror-smooth as seen here, providing an undistorted upside-down view of the fountain and the tall buildings from across Michigan Avenue.
Betty Joy Anderson, left, and Donna Hutchinson stand in Buckingham Fountain on Aug. 26, 1952, with a birthday cake to celebrate the fountain’s 25th anniversary.
An aerial view of Grant Park shows the revamped section of Congress Street leading from the expressway into Lake Shore Drive and recently completed lakefront promenade in foreground on Oct. 14, 1956. Buckingham Fountain is in the center. Photo taken from Tribune plane.
Buckingham Fountain reopens for the season with Jeanette Janvrin, 22, posing for a picture in Grant Park on May 20, 1953. Janvrin was the winner of a London contest to select the perfect secretary. Editor’s note: This photo has damage to the negative.
Frank Daly at the control board for Buckingham Fountain in 1954 in Grant Park.
A longtime favorite spot for Chicago visitors seeking a backdrop for photosis Buckingham Fountain in Grant Park. Dennis Odegaard, sailor from Naval Station Great Lakes, takes a photo of Pvt. William Wurtzel, in town from Fort Benjamin Harrison in Indiana, on May 29, 1964.
Buckingham Fountain is turned on and water pours forth for the new season of lakefront displays on May 20, 1969, in Grant Park.
Edwina Rast, Miss Chicago of 1964, signals for the waters to shoot forthfrom Buckingham Fountain on opening day for the lakefront attraction on May 20, 1964, in Grant Park.
An overhead view of Buckingham Fountain and Burnham Harbor, looking east from the Pick Congress Hotel on July 10, 1968.
Buckingham Fountain is turned on for the 48th consecutive time on May 20, 1974, in Grant Park.
