“Take me to that large fountain in the middle of the city,” I told a cab driver parked outside my hotel during a weekend trip to Philadelphia last summer.
The day before, I spotted the fountain from a taxi, my refuge from the unforgiving June sun, humidity and temps flirting with triple digits, en route from the Philadelphia Museum of Art to a Marriott downtown. With my polo shirt soaked in sweat, I was refreshed seeing jets spray water on the fountain’s over-life-sized bronze human figures reclining in a round granite pool.
I’d traveled to Philly via Amtrak to visit the art museum and capture images of the city’s many outdoor murals. But returning to the fountain with my cameras quickly became my top focus.
To beat the heat on Sunday, I took a taxi just after dawn to Swann Memorial Fountain on Benjamin Franklin Parkway at 19th Street in Logan Square—midway between the art museum and City Hall. Later I learned that the fountain’s centennial celebration was a month away. It was unveiled July 24, 1924, as 10,000 people gathered on a sweltering hot day.
Swann Fountain’s trio of allegorical figures represent Philadelphia’s three main waterways, including this womanly subject that takes the form of the Schuylkill River.
Blessed with “golden hour” morning light, I captured images with my Sony a7iv and iPhone of three allegorical American Indian figures representing Philadelphia's principal waterways:
Wissahickon Creek is embodied by a young woman lying on her side.
Wissahickon Creek takes the form of a graceful girl reclining sideways beneath a water-spouting swan.
A womanly figure represents the more formidable Schuylkill River, her hands supporting a swan’s neck.
A strong warrior embodies the mighty Delaware River, as he reaches behind his back for a bow where a fish leaps above him.
The Delaware River is represented by a warrior of a tribe native to the area.
Sculptor Alexander Stirling Calder designed the patina-coated figures he called “The Fountain of Three Rivers,” while architect Wilson Eyre created the basin and water jets for the Art Deco-styled memorial. Swann Fountain honors Dr. Wilson Cary Swann, founder of the Philadelphia Fountain Society, who was dedicated to establishing public drinking fountains for people and troughs for horses across the city.
While photographing the fountain from multiple perspectives, I focused on capturing the neighboring buildings and skyscrapers, along with the vibrant flowers and plants surrounding the area.
Swann Fountain in the shadows of the Philadelphia skyline.
Pennsylvania’s founder William Penn was visiting Ireland during London’s Great Fire of 1666, a tragedy that informed his decision to build Philadelphia between the Schuylkill and Delaware rivers. The 122-acre Logan Square is one of five squares Penn created in 1682, naming it after James Logan, who served as “secretary of the Province of Pennsylvania, mayor of Philadelphia, and chief justice of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court,” reads a sign in the square.
During the early 1800s, Logan Square was turned into an execution site and burial ground. But after 1825 the graves were relocated and trees were planted to create a public parkland. In 1919, prior to the fountain’s installation, the city reconfigured the square to create a traffic roundabout lined with flower beds.
Swann Fountain seen from the south path to the park in Logan Square.
Above all, my experiences spotting and photographing Swann Fountain reminded me of what I enjoy most about exploring cities: the inevitable delightful surprises that pleasantly interrupt your travel itinerary.
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