Centennial Fountain

Fountain in Chicago, United States

For other uses, see Centennial Fountain (disambiguation).

41°53′19.85″N 87°37′3.39″W﻿ / ﻿41.8888472°N 87.6176083°W﻿ / 41.8888472; -87.6176083

The Centennial Fountain water arc Close view of the Centennial Fountain

The Nicholas J. Melas Centennial Fountain is located on the north bank of the Chicago River at McClurg Court in Near North Side, Chicago.[1] It was dedicated in 1989, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago, perhaps best known for its major achievement in reversing the flow of the Chicago River in 1900;[2] and in 1999, this system was named a "Civil Engineering Monument of the Millennium" by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE).[3]

## History

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The water arc seen from River Esplanade Park The fountain waterfall as seen from across the Chicago River

As the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Chicago was soon to celebrate its 100-year anniversary, its architects came up with building a fountain along the Chicago River. They designed a fountain that includes a sculptural sun dial along the side of the river. The fountain opened in 1989.[4]

The fountain was named after Nicholas J. Melas who was elected in 1962 to the district's Board of Commissioners. Melas was re-elected five times, serving for thirty years—the last eighteen as President of the Board.[5][6]

The fountain's controls were damaged by flooding in May 2020, and after extensive design and engineering, work to refurbish the fountain began in 2022.[7] The fountain reopened on August 16, 2024.[8]

## Features

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The fountain designed by Lohan Associates, every hour, on the hour, shoots a large eighty-foot [9] water arc across the river from a modernist tiered waterfall.[10] The waterfall and the water cannon both operate from 8:00am to 11:00pm every day in the warm months.[11]

Panoramic view of Centennial Fountain at River Esplanade Park

## See also

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* River Esplanade Park

## References

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1. ^ "Centennial Fountain". Chicago Metropolitan Reclamation District. Retrieved September 15, 2012.
2. ^ "Centennial Fountain". Emporis. Archived from the original on November 2, 2012. Retrieved May 29, 2011.
3. ^ American Society of Civil Engineers. "Chicago Wastewater System". Archived from the original on January 15, 2012. Retrieved May 15, 2011.
4. ^ "Other". www.lohananderson.com. Retrieved May 3, 2019.
5. ^ "Board of Commissioners List" (PDF). Chicago Metropolitan Reclamation District. Retrieved September 15, 2012.[permanent dead link]
6. ^ "Water District's Melas Rates Farewell Salute." Chicago Sun-Times. Raymond R. Coffey. November 15, 1992
7. ^ Dahlman, Steven. "Centennial Fountain closed for repairs, upgrades". Loop North News. Retrieved September 21, 2022.
8. ^ Dahlman, Steven. "Centennial Fountain back to work on August 16". Loop North News. Retrieved August 8, 2024.
9. ^ "Chicago Public Art: Nicholas J. Melas Centennial Plaza and Fountain". Chicago Public Art. Retrieved April 22, 2019.
10. ^ Dahlman, Steven (March 25, 2015). "Loop North News Centennial Fountain Water Cannon". Loop North News. Steven Dahlman.
11. ^ Al-Kodmany, Kheir (2017). Understanding Tall Buildings: A Theory of Placemaking. Taylor & Francis. p. 183\. ISBN 9781317608660.

## External links

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* Metropolitan Water Reclamation District Archived 2011-06-02 at the Wayback Machine
* Nicholas J. Melas Centennial Plaza and Fountain — Chicago Public Art

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