The Crown Fountain, designed by Spanish artist Jaume Plensa, is an extremely unique tribute to the people of Chicago. The artist was inspired by historic fountains that have gargoyles with water spouting out of their open mouths.
Plensa's version is made up of two 50 foot glass block towers that display rotating video images of 1,000 residents. The giant faces smile for a few minutes, then pucker their lips and a pipe embedded in the screen sends out a large stream of water, giving the illusion that the water is spouting out of their mouth. As a transition between faces, the tower goes black and a cascading waterfall comes raining down the sides.
Kids are big fans of the Crown Fountain, and parents should plan accordingly as their children will probably wind up soaking wet. While the images on the towers are shown throughout the year, the water portion is only turned on mid-spring through mid-fall, weather permitting.
