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| ONE OF THE ELECTRICAL FOUNTAINS - On each side
of the MacMonnies Fountain, which was the principal decoration of the
Fair, was placed a circular basin or inclosure, as seen in the
photograph, from which many volcano-like craters issued. These were
covered with rustic rock-work for ornament in the day-time, when the
fountains were not in use. At night, there issued from these craters
streams of water lava - green, golden, rosy red, pink, yellow and
blue - the columns rising to a much greater height than may be here
seen, capable also of multiple colors, cross-playing, and pyramidal
effects. The vari-colored night fountain, in former times, was
produced only on the dramatic stage, the colored lights being thrown
upon the waters from the flies and by the Drummond light. The
electric fountain was introduced to the general public at Paris, in
the Exposition of 1889, with great success. Mr. Yerkes, of Chicago,
then erected a fine example of this beautiful device at Lincoln Park,
in the northern part of the city of Chicago, which, playing on three
nights a week, was visited by millions of people. These fountains at
the Fair, at the hours in which they were played, added distinctly to
the bewildering beauties of the scene. The operators are concealed
in a spacious room beneath the basin, and electric lights play on the
water before it rises out of the funnels. Owing to the complexity of
the apparatus - hydraulics, dynamos, and what not - disappointment is
frequent and unavoidable, but the successful exhibitions are all the
more highly enjoyed by the people. |
