Kansas City - The City of Fountains

If you’re wondering why Kansas City is known as the city of fountains, all you have to do is look around. The Greater Metro Kansas City area is home to more than 200 fountains, one more spectacular than the other. The city’s love affair with fountains of all shapes and sizes dates back to the early 1900s and carries forward in time to more modern days. The story behind that love affair is as interesting as the fountains in Kansas City themselves.

Midwestern Spirit Started It All~

Fitting the Midwestern spirit of Kansas City, one of Kansas City’s very first fountains served a more practical purpose than aesthetics. It actually was a large water trough with four small pools for dogs to drink from and a basin to water horses, as well. This historic Kansas City fountain was erected by the Humane Society of Kansas City in 1904 near the west end of the intercity viaduct at 3rd and Minnesota.
The society, which served to prevent cruelty to women, children and animals alike, was responsible the creation of many fountains throughout the city. The dedication of such Kansas City fountains was a big affair. In fact, more than 100 people attended the 1910 ceremony to dedicate the Frank Faxon Fountain in Kansas City at 40th and Main, which was named after a former society president.
During this time, Kansas City got into the fountain creation act, too. The first fountains for people to drink from were paid for by the city, with the very first created at 15th and Paseo in 1899. This fountain was created by landscape architect George Kessler, who also created the fountain at 9th and Paseo. The 9th and Paseo fountain in Kansas City can still be seen today.
As time passed, fountains continued to be erected throughout the Kansas City area for animals, people and simple sculptural beauty. Let’s take a look at some of the most famous Kansas City fountains that can be found within Kansas City today.

Early Kansas City Fountains

Some of the city’s most famous Kansas City fountains were created during the late 1800s and the early 1900s. They range from solemn memorials to eye-catching wonders.

Swope Memorial Fountain, Swope Park
This Kansas City fountain was erected in 1922 to honor Thomas Swope. Swope is responsible for donating two square miles of land for the city to use for the creation of a park, which today features the Kansas City Zoo, Starlight Theater and much more. The fountain itself includes a six-foot pedestal, a four-foot balustrade of white stones. It stands only a few yards away from the Thomas H. Swope Memorial under which Swope is buried.

Women’s Leadership Fountain, 9th and Paseo
This fountain in Kansas City is thought by many to be one of the city’s oldest. It was created by George Kessler in 1899. The fountain originally had an oval limestone basin that was surrounded by a raised walkway, flower garden, lamps and other eye-catching features, in addition to a water spray that came from a nozzle in the center.

J.C. Nichols Paved The Way
Jesse Clyde Nichols and his company are responsible for the creation of some of Kansas City’s best loved landmarks. In addition to the monumental construction of Country Club Plaza, Nichols also invested a great deal in Kansas City’s landscape by creating a number of Kansas City fountains to make his home stand out as spectacular.

Here is a sampling of the fountains Nichols is responsible for creating in Kansas City:
J.C. Nichols Memorial Fountain, 48th Street
This spectacular Kansas City fountain features a 1910 sculpture by Henry Gerber of Paris. It stands more than 10 feet high and weights in at one and a half tons. The sculpture boasts four equestrian figures and children riding dolphins. It was commissioned for the formal gardens of a private resident in Long Island, New York, and brought to Kansas City in 1952 by the Nichols family. The city donated land to dedicate the sculpture and fountain in honor of Jesse Clyde Nichols, the original developer of Country Club Plaza. The fountain was officially dedicated in 1960.

Mirror Pool, 62nd and Ward Parkway
This Kansas City fountain boasts a 65-foot pool and three water jets with four stone flower baskets at the corners. It was built by the J.C. Nichols Company in 1924. It was favored in the 1920s and 1930s for use as a miniature yacht racing pools and now is enjoyed by winter ice skaters.

Meyer Circle Fountain, Meyer Boulevard and Ward Parkway
The famous Seahorse Fountain was given to Kansas City by J.C. Nichols and was officially installed in 1925. The centerpiece sculpture itself was a fixture in Venice, Italy, for about 300 years before it was procured by Nichols and brought to Kansas City.

Boy and Frog, Nichols Road
This whimsical Kansas City fountain boasts a statue that was purchased by the Nichols Company in 1928. The statue originates from Florence, Italy, and features a frog shooting water at a small boy. The base is adorned with a faun and a dolphin. The bowl and pedestal were crafted from rose Verona marble.

Four Fauns, Nichols Road
Another gift to Kansas City from the Nichols Company, this Kansas City fountain features fauns and creatures out of Roman mythology. The initial fauns were created in Brindisi, Italy, in the 1700s, but three of the four were stolen and subsequently replaced by replicas.

Neptune Fountain, 47th and Wornall
Mr. Nichols is responsible for bringing this 8,000-pound statue of the god of the sea to Kansas City in 1952. The impressive figure was originally made in Worchestershire, England, in 1911. It was installed in the Plaza in 1953.

Allen Memorial Fountain, Nichols Road
This sculpture of a bathing female and a child standing on a turtle was placed in honor of J.C. Nichols’ daughter and her husband, who died in a house fire. This Kansas City fountain was erected in 1962 and was created in Florence, Italy, for the Nichols family.

Seville Light, 47th and J.C. Nichols Parkway
This famous Kansas City fountain features a bronze chandelier 40 feet above street level that’s held by a large marble shaft. Water flows freely from four masks on the sides of the shaft into a pool below. This is a reproduction of the original light from the Giralda Tower in Seville Spain. The creation was dedicated in 1967 and was gifted to Kansas City by the J.C. Nichols Company.

Bacchus, 47th and Wayandotte
Located in Chandler Court, this fountain weighs in at 10,000 pounds and shows Bacchus surrounded by nymphs and satyrs. It was created in Worchestershire, England, in 1911.

Diana, Wornall and Ward Parkway
Commissioned by the J.C. Nichols Company, this 1970 replica of the 1912 English statute, features Diana, the Roman goddess of the hunt, with a 17-foot-high waterfall. Water in this Kansas City fountain flows at the rate of 2,000 gallons per minute.

Pamona Courtyard, Wornall and Ward Parkway
This replica of a statue found in the king’s palace in Bangkok, Thailand, represents the Roman goddess of vineyards, gardens and orchards. It was created in Florence, Itlay, and was erected in Kansas City in 1969.

Other Famous Kansas City Fountains

The Muse Of Missouri, Main, between 8th and 9th
This is one of Kansas City’s most famous fountains. It was donated to the city by Mr. And Mrs. James M. Kemper of Commerce Bank in memory of their son, Lt. David Woods Kemper, who was killed in Italy during World War II. The bronze muse stands 30 feet high, weighs in at 2,500 pounds and sits atop a marble base. The Muse is the Greek goddess of the arts and literature, but in this instance she represents the spirit of the Missouri River. This impressive creation also features a series of three pools into which water flows.

Dr. William Fitzsimons Memorial Fountain, 12th and Paseo
This solemn fountain was created in honor of Lt. William T. Fitzsimons, M.D., the first American officer to die in World War I. The Kansas City son was a KU Medical School graduate. The fountain itself features two Corinthian columns with a semicircular lunette with an eagle at its center. It proffers water from a bronze lion head and also bears the Army Medical Corps emblem. Plans for the fountain began forming in 1918 with a dedication in 1922.

American Legion Fountain, Budd Park
This Kansas City fountain, originally dedicated in 1921, was first erected at the intersection of Main, Delaware and 9th Streets during the American Legion’s National Convention. The fountain features World War I figures and a pillar that’s topped by four eagles. It also includes a list of Kansas City American Legion Posts that were named after men who died in that war. It was moved to Budd Park in 1958.

Liberty Memorial, Pershing Road and Main
This Kansas City memorial to peace was created in 1926 and paid for by $2.5 million in resident contributions that were raised within a two-week period. This massive structure includes a 488-foot-long main wall and a two level fountain with water spraying upwards from the top fountain that flows into the lower level.

Delbert Haff Memorial, Meyer Boulevard and Swope Parkway
Delbert Haff was the lawyer for the city’s parks department during the 1890s. He is responsible for paving the way for the city to create its parks and boulevard system. The Kansas City fountain’s pond and circle were built in 1927 and were named after Haff in 1940. The statue was created by Jorgen Dryer, who created the Fitzsimons memorial, and was installed in 1967.

Rozelle Court, Nelson Atkins Museum
A 2,000-year-old Italian bowl made of cipollino marine marble sits as the centerpiece of this particular fountain that includes a base of lions’ paws. The bowl itself weighs in at an amazing four tons.

City Hall Fountains, 12th Street
From Oak to Locust along 12th Street sits two parallel rows of four rectangular basins, each boasting a different sea creature. At the closest point to the building is a winged bronze sea horse with dolphins on both sides. The other pools have dolphin heads that arise from shells.

Northeast Concourse, Benton Boulevard and Gladstone
This Kansas City fountain initially began as a favorite spot for miniature yacht racing. It was turned into a fountain in 1967 when multiple spray jets were added to this 100-foot-by-150-foot pond.

American War Mothers Memorial, Meyer and Paseo
The Kansas City Chapter of the American War Mothers hired Edward Buehler Delk to create this fountain in 1941. Delk was the designer of Country Club Plaza. The Kansas City fountain was dedicated in 1942 and includes a 20-foot circular pools and an 18-foot obelisk with an eagle atop. Three stars adorn the sides of the obelisk with the gold representing mothers who lost sons in war, blue for those who had wounded son and white for those who sons returned home safely. On the fourth side is the group’s insignia.

Kansas City Star Fountain, 18th and Grand
This fountain in front of the Star’s building was added in 1964 in response to the city’s drive for better landscaping. The undertaking involved the removal of paving and the addition of the fountain, flowers and grass.

Commerce Bank Tower, 911 Main
Known as the Fountain of Life, this beauty features a sunken garden one level below the street and a figure that rises 13 feet in the center of a basin that’s set into an elevated platform.

Crown Center, Pershing and Grand
This famous hotel’s design incorporates Signboard Hill into its design with a large waterfall cascading down the hillside.

Royals Stadium Fountains
Featuring 600 nozzle fountains, this spectacular display cost more than $1 million to construct in the 1970s. Together the fountains can be configured into 150 different displays and use a half million gallons of water.

Heritage Fountain, 23rd and Topping
Created in 1976 by local artist Dale Eldred this fountain features an 85-foot steel pylon that’s centered in a 160-foot-by-160-foot base made up of tiny steps. Water sprays onto these downward tilting steps to create literally thousands of little waterfalls.

Rain Thicket, 12th and Walnut
Funded by the City of Fountains Foundation, this fountain from the 1980s features 18-foot-high stylized trees with a 25-foot base. The fountain stands in Oppenstein Park.

Spirit of Freedom, Brush Creek and Cleveland
This fountain was dedicated in 1981 in honor of city councilman Bruce Watkins. It was Watkins’ dream to create a fountain to commemorate the accomplishments of Kansas City’s black residents. Watkins took part in the ground breaking for this fountain, but died before its dedication. The fountain itself is 5,000 pounds and nine feet high. Water sprays from the basin and flows down a 12-teir pink granite pyramid.

Northland Fountain, North Oak and Vivion
This is the first fountain to be erected north of the Missouri River. It was created in the 1980s and includes a circular reflecting pool and multiple water jets. The center geyser can propel water to an impressive height of 35 feet.

Vietnam Veterans Memorial, 43rd and Broadway
This memorial was dedicated in 1985 after being created by local artist and Vietnam veteran David Baker. It features a series of interconnected pools that run downhill and a 10-foot-by-155-foot wall that lists the names of all 385 Kansas City Metro Area residents who were killed during the way.

Firefighters Memorial Fountain, 31st Street
Dedicated in 1991, this fountain features an 80-foot basin and 48 nozzles that are actual brass fire hose nozzles. The sculpture itself depicts two firefighters pointing their hose on a fire. It also has a semi-circle of short pillars that hold the names of Kansas City firefighters killed in action. In the center of the pillars is a firefighter with his head bowed.

Children’s Fountain, 32nd and North Oak
Featuring six children playing in water, this is the largest of Kansas City’s fountains. It has 12 water sprays and an oval pool. It was dedicated in 1995 and created by local sculptor Tom Corbin.