Prefontaine Fountain

Coordinates: 47°36′07″N 122°19′51″W / 47.60194°N 122.33083°W / 47.60194; -122.33083
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Prefontaine Fountain
The fountain in 2010
Map
LocationSeattle, Washington, United States
Coordinates47°36′07″N 122°19′51″W / 47.60194°N 122.33083°W / 47.60194; -122.33083
Inscription detail

Prefontaine Fountain is a fountain by Carl Frelinghuysen Gould, installed at Prefontaine Place, a small park in the Pioneer Square district of Seattle, Washington, near the intersection of 3rd Avenue and Yesler Way.

Description[edit]

The circular basin and wall are concrete; the low basin rim has sculptures of turtles. Blue ceramic tiles line the fountain basin.[1]

History[edit]

The fountain is the city's oldest, completed in 1925, on land deeded to the city in 1912.[2] The park and fountain were dedicated in June 1926 to the late Francis X. Prefontaine, a Catholic priest who built the city's first Catholic church and provided $5,000 for the fountain's construction.[3] The park and fountain were rebuilt during construction of the Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel and adjacent Pioneer Square station in the late 1980s, reopening in 1990.[4] The fountain and sidewalk between it and Pioneer Square station have been fenced off since 2023.[5]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Prefontaine Fountain, (sculpture)". Smithsonian Institution. Archived from the original on April 13, 2018. Retrieved April 12, 2018.
  2. ^ "Prefontaine Place". Seattle Parks and Recreation. Archived from the original on April 13, 2018. Retrieved April 12, 2018.
  3. ^ "Fountain in Memory of Father Prefontaine". The Seattle Times. June 12, 1926. p. 6.
  4. ^ Lane, Bob (June 7, 1990). "Deafening silence: Bus tunnel's done". The Seattle Times. p. B1. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved April 12, 2018.
  5. ^ "City Hall Park Reopens After Nearly Two Years, Still a City Asset". The Urbanist. Retrieved April 16, 2024.

External links[edit]