Brewer Fountain: Detail

North End Fountain

Bird Bath

Brewer Fountain

Water in the fountain was finally turned on this week. One of my favorite subjects to photograph in the city made to look as I imagine it looked about 100 years ago. The 22-foot-tall, 15,000-pound bronze fountain, cast in Paris, was a gift to the city of Boston by Gardner Brewer in 1868. Copies of the fountain were made for the cities of Lyons and Bordeaux, and a copy was made for Said Pacha, a Viceroy of Egypt. Unfortunately, the Brewer Fountain is the only known surviving copy of the original featured at the 1855 Paris World Fair and designed by the artist Liénard. The fountain is decorated with the figures of Neptune, Amphitrite, and Acis and Galatea from Greek mythology.

Happy New Year!

One of my favorite photos of the past year.

Fountain

Fountain, Copley Square.

Mother and Children

At one of the fountains on the Rose Kennedy Greenway.

Monochrome Monday

In the Garden

North End Fountain

Park at Post Office Square

Fountains - February Theme Day

Brewer Fountain on a snowy Boston Common this afternoon. View my other photos of this fountain. The first of the month is theme day at City Daily Photo Blogs. View other fountains from around the world.

The Ether Monument: the Good Samaritan

The monument was commissioned by Thomas Lee and commemorates the discovery ether and its use as an anesthetic in surgery performed at Massachusetts General Hospital October 16, 1846. The fountain was designed by John Quincy Adams Ward and Henry Van Brunt.

In the center of a large square fountain basin is a tall square granite base topped with a sculpture depicting a bearded man in robe and turban (the good samaritan) attending a wounded reclining male figure who appears unconscious. Around the center section of the base, there is an inscription panel on each side. The inscription panels are bordered by a decorative frieze, flanked by pairs of polished red granite columns, and topped with a small tre-foil shaped marble relief. The relief on the front depicts the performance of surgery; the relief on the right depicts an allegory of the triumph of science; the relief on the rear depicts a field hospital with a wounded soldier in the care of a surgeon; and the relief on the left depicts the Angel of Mercy descending toward a reclining figure. A water spout on each side of the base is designed as a lion head.

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Source: Smithsonian American Art Museum Inventory of American Sculpture, Control Number MA000002

Hot Days

Cooling off by the fountains on the Rose Kennedy Greenway.

Monochrome Monday

Fountain in the North End.
View a similar photo I posted last year.

First Pose

I caught this pretty girl posing at the re-dedication of the Brewer Fountain last week. The water had just been turned on and the ribbons removed from around the fountain when she seized the opportunity to become the first to pose by the fountain (excluding the mayor, of course). Below you can see the scene as it actually occurred.

Watering the dogs

I took this shot about two weeks ago on a particularly hot day. Hot enough that this woman took her two little dogs into the fountain to cool off.

Monochrome Monday

I'm posting my Monday monochrome on Sunday this week because I am going away for a few days. I'll be back in about a week and hope to see you all then. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy this weeks photo which was taken in a North End park near the Old North Church.

You can follow this link to find other Monochrome Maniacs this week.

Monochrome Monday

Fountain in the Public Garden. Other monochrome maniacs photos can be seen at Aileni's Monochrome Weekly Theme.

Lion Fountain

Fountain at the Angell Memorial Plaza.