8th Street Fountain

Architect and planner Edward H. Bennett (1874–1954) worked closely with Daniel H. Burnham for many years and together they co-authored the 1909 Plan of Chicago. After Burnham died in 1912, Bennett became the consulting architect to the Chicago Plan Commission and the South Park Commission hired him to complete the plans for Grant Park. Following Burnham’s earlier vision, Bennett adhered to a classical vocabulary for the park. He relied on formal symmetry and created outdoor rooms defined by tree allées, lawn panels, gardens, walkways, terraces and fountains.

Besides the monumental Clarence Buckingham Memorial Fountain, the 8th Street Fountain, which was also constructed in 1927, is the last of Bennett’s original fountains for Grant Park. Although much more modest in design and scale, the 8th Street Fountain is classically-inspired. It is composed of cast ornamental concrete with exposed pink granite aggregate. There are trimmed hedges and lush floral plantings near the fountain.