Grifo Mágico (Magic Tap) in El Puerto de Santa María (Cádiz, Andalucía)
Photo credit: Emilio J. Rodríguez-Posada
Water fountains have a long place in our history. Dating back to the Ancient Roman times, these reservoirs were first designed with a purely practical purpose—for holding precious drinking water and bathing. These early fountains were uncovered, free standing, and placed along the street for public consumption. (Wealthier folks also had them in their homes.) Of course, like many things the Romans did, they added some ornamental elements to their creations and started a tradition that carries on today.
Now, fountains have a decorative place in our culture. Artists and architects approach them first and foremost as sculptures with elements of water in them. This liquid addition creates playful public art that delights and even surprises us. One popular concept is everyday things blown up as larger than life. The Magic Tap Fountain in Cádiz, Andalucía appears as a faucet that’s floating in midair. From it, water pours into the “sink” below. Its jumbo size makes it seem as if a giant forgot to turn off the tap.
Other fountains designs are completed with water. The ghostly Water Boat Fountain in Valencia, Spain, comprises just a few bent-metal pieces that reveal a deserted ship once the liquid flows.
See how artists, architects, and sculptors have redefined the art of water fountains, below.
Metalmorphosis by David Cherny at the Whitehall Technology Park in Charlotte, North Carolina
Photo credit: RFL Photography
Fountain by Malgorzata Chodakowska
Read more: Poetic Fountain Sculptures Designed for Water to Creatively Cascade
Water Boat Fountain in Playa de la Malvarrosa in Valencia, Spain
Photo source: Nors
Read more: Spectacular Fountain Sprays Water to Look Like a Boat
Magic Water Circuit in Parque de la Reserva in Lima, Peru
Photo credit: drinkwildair
Julie Penrose Fountain in Colorado Springs, Colorado
Photo credit: Chris Coleman
Nine Floating Fountains by Isamu Noguchi in Osaka, Japan
Photo source: Arch2O
Vaillancourt Fountain by Armand Vaillancourt in San Francisco, California
Photo credit: Mark Interrante
The Fountain of Wealth in Suntec City, Singapore
Photo source: SGliulian.com
The Pineapple Fountain in Charleston, South Carolina
Photo credit: Michael Criswell
El Alamein Fountain by Phill Taranto in Sydney, Australia
Photo credit: Sardaka / Wikimedia
Swarovski Fountain in Austria
Photo source: jjlew080
71 Fountain in Ohio
Photo credit: Kyle Wood
Tlaloc Fountain in Chapultepec Park in Mexico City, Mexico
Photo credit: David Hiser
Crown Fountain in Millennium Park, Chicago, Illinois
Photo credit: Serge Melki
Charybdis by William Pye
Read more: Incredible Vortex Water Sculpture
Fountain by Rubenstein Studios at the University of Connecticut
Photo credit: Rubenstein Studios