Peace Fountain
Kelly and I went for a short walk tonight to the marina. Before we left, I had noticed from her apartment that the Peace fountain, which has been sitting on block near the lighthouse for almost two years, was gone!
If you’re not from Windsor, the peace fountain is a water feature, a fountain, that floats. It is removed from the water and placed on blocks at the marina every fall, and usually put back in after the ice is gone in the spring. It is the main feature in one of our many beautiful waterfront parks.
This is what it looks like during the day and at night. There are a variety of patterns to the jets of water, and different colour lights at night. (these are not my pictures)
And here is a video: (video is not mine):
Last year, due to some large-scale renovations to the park where it resides, and also due to the municipal workers strike, the fountain did not get placed in the water at all.
So it was with great excitement that I noticed it was gone. Finally, back where it belongs! And with a brand new pavilion in the park around it too!
Well not quite, not yet. As we approached the marina on our walk, I noticed it was indeed in the water, but it was only a few feet from where it had sat on the dock. This presented a rare opportunity to see what it looks like up close. So I thought I might share the opportunity with you.
So, if you’re from the area and you’ve ever wondered what it looks like on the inside, here it is.
Isn’t that pretty cool? Or am I just a big geek? I remember as a kid going to the park with my parents and staring at the jets of water shooting into the air and the changing colour patterns. I thought for hours about how it all worked, who controlled it, and how did they fix it if it broke. I thought a lot about stuff like that when I was little. I’m really glad that part of me is still alive and well. And I’m glad Kelly seems to think it’s cute.
AbitibiSouth 
Very cool! I always loved that fountain! Glad it will finally make it’s way back… Night time, with the spotlights is the best! I would sit there and stare at it forever, mesmerized… yet always trying to figure out the sequence of colours and jets… Yup, add me to the geek squad. 😉
I too think it’s cool, Sylvain. But maybe I’m just a big geek too, so I don’t know. Very cool! xo, O
Is it too late for you to become an engineer?
Very pretty water/light show. Dresses up your city beautifully. Yes, engineering is for you! It’s NEVER too late!
It’s a tremendous buzz when a long-forgotten question like “How do they do that ?” gets answered.
I can picture you looking out over the water in the future thinking to yourself, “Yep, got that one sorted !”
Two related stories.
Recently saw a TV show which featured a behind-the-scenes (well, under) look at the fountains at Bellagio In Las Vegas. Simply amazing.
In Denver, we have a fountain which is much like the one you show in your post, Sylvain. It is fixed in place in the middle of a man-made lake in City Park. When I was a kid, it came on every night, shooting all kinds of patterns of water in the air and changing colors.
Then, it was shut down. No money to repair it.
It sat neglected for more than a decade. Then, only a couple of years ago, the lake was drained in order to deal with the accumulated gunk which was making it unsuitable for wildlife, and while it was drained, they somehow found the funds to replace the fountain.
Now, it is again putting on a fantastic nightly show, and it is only part of the rebirth of City Park, which had long been a gang hangout. Now, there are concerts again in the bandshell which adjoins the lake, there are again paddle boats for rent on the lake, and it is now an even more fun place to take a family than it was 40 years ago when I had my first job, in the concession stand next to that same lake.
http://www.denverpost.com/ci_10249315
I forgot to mention that DIA is losing its fountain.
http://www.pbase.com/image/37023549
It was built in the grand open space where inbound passengers first come into the terminal itself after their short train ride from the concourses. From the top of the stairs, they can first see the gigundo white tent-shaped roof which is so distinctive and the airport’s brand.
I have seen the fountain during the brief time it was functional, and I have to say it did not evoke for me the intended thought, that being, “Oh, look! The many little jets of water when viewed together look like a mountain range!”
Still, it is always a sad day when any artwork is removed. In this case, the designer of the piece termed the removal “immoral”. In response, I would say his engineering work was abominable, which is why it has to come out. It was a maintenance nightmare, and when it did work, it caused splashing around the perimeter of the thing, a needless hazard (slippery floors) for newly arrived passengers. The final straw was the need to expand the train system, and the pumping station for the fountain, located underneath on the same level as the train tunnels, is in the way.