Colorado Fountains: The Electric Fountain and the Thatcher Memorial Fountain

Electric Fountain at Day
By Michael Levine-Clark - Own work, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0, Link

The 2008 version of the Electric Fountain had its dedication last August 19, 2008 which gave a sure attraction to a lot of visitors who attended the Democratic National Convention. It gave an entertaining display of moving water and brightly colored lights, the very same way the 1908 fountain used to be about a hundred years ago.

During a dreadful Friday of June 26, a quick and unexpected thunderstorm struck City Park and the water column which measured 90 feet in height. There were few equipment sections in the vault of the fountain that were damaged and the colored LED lights needed some serious repair due to the direct and straight strike of the thunderstorm.

It has been shut down temporarily for further repair and replacement as work is promised to continue. The term Electric Fountain was given to the fountains made during the era of which the concept of electricity was still new and arc lights served as the tools to illuminate. A few of these so-called electric fountains were designed by F.W. Darlington, an impressive inventor and engineer. It was traced back in 1896 and according to old newspaper accounts, it was termed as polychrome lighting. This is due to the glowing description of the lighting effects.

On to the next, made after the model of the Central Park of New York, this city park of Denver was already in its work progress during the 1870s. It was built on a total of 320 acres of land by 1880 and expanded from the 17th to the 23rd of the Colorado Boulevard. By 1913, a gold course was even added which made an expansion of about 480 acres.

To be able to create the center of the park system was not that simple and easy. Squatters on the open lands had to be removed from the place and a lot of water was required. The City Ditch provided for this need to be able to maintain all the tree plantings and it was in 1896 that the City Park Lake was built to drain the immediate land. Four ornamented gateways were built near the entrances and street stops of the park.

It was known to be very family oriented with a very conservative mood. No dogs were permitted to be inside and the park has its own cell to manage rowdy drunks and visitors. There was a municipal band who played during the summer nights and the Thatcher Memorial Fountain was installed as an electric fountain right in the center of the lake.

This fountain added so much appeal to the overall appearance of the park. There were paddleboats and canoes up for rent to be used on exploring the lake. During the winter season, the very same place was used for ice skating instead. The sculpture became a very essential part of the city. It has its best statues which include frontier women and miners. There’s also the Grizzly’s Last Stand on the western side of the Natural History museum in the city park.