Columbus Fountain

Did You Know?

• Lorado Taft, the winning sculptor, was a distant cousin of the committee chairman William H. Taft, who was elected President the following year.
• The contract for construction was awarded to J. C. Richardson & Son of New York for $21,854, excluding carvings.

Description

The fountain is a semicircular double-basin structure with a 45-foot shaft at its center. The front of the shaft bears a full-length portrait of Christopher Columbus, about 15 feet tall, wearing a mantle and staring forward with folded hands. Beneath him is a ship prow with a winged figurehead representing the observation of discovery. A globe symbolizing the Western Hemisphere sits atop the shaft, with four eagles connected by garland at each corner.

Two male figures flank the shaft: an elderly man on the right representing the Old World, and a Native American figure on the left representing the New World. The back of the shaft features a low-relief medallion, about 3 feet in diameter, depicting Ferdinand and Isabella, and is inscribed with a dedication to Columbus. Two lions, each about 5 feet tall, guard the left and right sides away from the base. The fountain sits in the center of Columbus traffic circle in front of Union Station.

Designing the fountain

In May 1907, a commission was formed for the memorial fountain, headed by prominent members of the Senate, Secretary of State Elihu Root, and Secretary of War William H. Taft, who served as committee chairman. After agreeing on the location, a call for designs was sent to artists from America, Italy, and Spain, reflecting the committee's idea that the artist could come from the land Columbus gave to the world, the land that gave Columbus to the world, or the land that made his achievement possible.

On March 20, 1908, the commission approved the general scheme proposed by architect Daniel Burnham. The design placed the fountain directly in front of Union Station at the juncture of Delaware and Massachusetts avenues, semicircular with inner and outer basins 64 feet wide. A stone column about 10 feet high, surmounted by a globe representing the world, served as a background for the statue of Columbus standing at the bow of a Spanish caravel. Two recumbent lions were placed on the fountain walls.

The design was influenced by a fountain by Frederick MacMonnies displayed at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893. Six sculptors were invited to the competition: Augustin Querol for Spain; Augustus Revolta and Cesare Zoccni for Italy; and Frederick W. MacMonnies, Daniel C. French, and Lorado Taft for the United States.

Installation and dedication

Construction began on October 31, 1911, supervised by A. W. Taylor of J.C. Robinson & Son, and the piece was installed from March to June 1912. A committee organized a celebration from Friday, June 7, through Sunday, June 9, 1912. On Friday, Knights of Columbus from around the world gathered in Washington, visiting George Washington's tomb at Mount Vernon. That evening, a public reception was held at the new National Museum, with music by the United States Marine Band and the presence of the Columbus Memorial commission; 4,000 people attended. Simultaneously, an automobile pageant took place near the White House with 50,000 spectators. The Knights of Columbus headed the dedication ceremony on June 8, 1912, with an estimated 150,000 people expected. Congress supplied an extra $6,000 for police security, and the Knights contributed $10,000 for decorations and planning.

Condition and conservation

The fountain was added to the National Register of Historic Places on March 7, 1968. In October 1991, it was spray-painted with graffiti reading '500 Years of Genocide' during a wreath-laying ceremony; the National Park Service removed it with surface cleaners. In March 1994, the Save Outdoor Sculpture! program surveyed the work and described it as needing treatment. By the 2010s, the fountain had significant structural issues; statues were painted over to hide discolorations, and basins were boarded up due to non-functioning plumbing.

On May 25, 2016, it was selected as one of 20 historic places to compete for a share of $2 million in grants under the National Trust for Historic Preservation's Partners in Preservation program. In July 2024, the fountain was vandalized with graffiti protesting a speech by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu; Zaid Mohammad Mahdawi was later arrested. In December 2025, Columbus Circle was closed for renovation, and the fountain reopened in May 2026.