Temperance Fountain

Temperance Fountain

Year	1884
Type	sculpture
Dimensions	4.3 m (14 ft)
Location	Washington, D.C.
Owner	National Park Service

The Temperance Fountain is a fountain and statue located in Washington, D.C., donated to the city in 1882 by Henry D. Cogswell, a dentist from San Francisco, California, who was a crusader in the temperance movement.^[1] This fountain was one of a series of fountains he designed and commissioned in a belief that easy access to cool drinking water would keep people from consuming alcoholic beverages.^[2]

Contents 1 Design 2 Location 3 Upkeep 4 Other Cogswell fountains 5 References 6 External links

Design

The fountain has four stone columns supporting a canopy on whose sides the words "Faith," "Hope," "Charity," and "Temperance" are chiseled. Atop this canopy is a life-sized heron, and the centerpiece is a pair of entwined heraldic scaly dolphins. Originally, visitors were supposed to freely drink ice water flowing from the dolphins' snouts with a brass cup attached to the fountain and the overflow was collected by a trough for horses,^[3] but the city tired of having to replenish the ice in a reservoir underneath the base and disconnected the supply pipes.^[4]

The inscription reads:
(Base of fish:)
PRESENTED BY
DR. HENRY D. COGSWELL
OF SAN FRANCISCO CAL
(Top of temple:)
TEMPERANCE
FAITH
HOPE
CHARITY

Location

The fountain sits at the corner of Seventh Street and Pennsylvania Avenue NW, near the National Archives and has been called "the city's ugliest statue".^[5] The late NBC correspondent Bryson Rash, writing in Footnote Washington, a 1981 book of capital lore, reported that "these unusual and awkward structures spurred the movement across the country for city fine arts commissions to screen such gifts" prior to funding.^[6] In April 1945, Sen. Sheridan Downey of California introduced a Senate resolution to remove the fountain, but, preoccupied with World War II, Congress ignored the resolution and it died in committee.^[4]

The statue was originally placed at Seventh and Indiana, having been placed in the rather obscure location, since the statue was regarded as undesirable from the start.^[7] For many years, it ironically sat in front of a busy liquor store, while it was dry itself.^[8] In 1987, it was relocated, about 10 yards north, during the renewal by the Pennsylvania Avenue Development Corporation.

Upkeep

The fountain is also the source of the name for the Cogswell Society, a small group of Washington professionals who have taken it upon themselves to take care of the fountain.^[9] In 1984, is was placed on the Downtown Historic District National Register #84003901.

Other Cogswell fountains

Cogswell's fountains can be found in Washington, D.C., Tompkins Square Park New York City,^[2] and Rockville, Connecticut.^[10][11][12] Other examples were erected and then torn down at: Buffalo, Rochester, Boston Common,^[13][14] Fall River, Massachusetts, Pacific Grove, California,^[15][16] and San Francisco.^[17]

References

External videos
	NCPC Cinema Visiting Washington's Lesser Known Memorials[18]

External links

• "Cogswell Temperance Fountain", wikimapia
• http://dcmemorials.com/index_indiv0000570.htm
• http://virtualglobetrotting.com/map/temperance-fountain-by-henry-d-cogswell/
• http://www.prohibitionhangover.com/temptour.html