Swann Memorial Fountain Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids Swann Memorial Fountain
Fountain of the Three Rivers

Artist	Alexander Stirling Calder
Year	1924 (1924)
Type	Sculpture
Philadelphia Register of Historic Places

Location	Benjamin Franklin Parkway and 19th St., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.

The Swann Memorial Fountain (also known as the Fountain of the Three Rivers) is a beautiful art deco fountain and sculpture. You can find it in the middle of Logan Circle in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States.

Building the Fountain
What the Fountain Shows
Fun in the Fountain
Art Around the Fountain
Fountain in Pop Culture
Fun facts about the fountain
Images for kids
See also

Building the Fountain

This special fountain was created by Alexander Stirling Calder. He worked with an architect named Wilson Eyre. The fountain was built to remember Wilson Cary Swann. He was the person who started the Philadelphia Fountain Society.

The Society wanted a memorial fountain for their founder. They agreed the fountain would belong to the city. Because of this, they were given the perfect spot in Logan Circle. The fountain was finished in 1924.

What the Fountain Shows

The fountain has large Native American figures. These figures represent the three main rivers in the area. They are the Delaware, the Schuylkill, and the Wissahickon.

A young girl leaning on a swan shows the Wissahickon Creek. The swan sprays water.
A grown woman holding a swan's neck stands for the Schuylkill River.
A male figure with a bow, as a large fish sprays water, symbolizes the Delaware River.

Small frogs and turtles also shoot water. They aim towards a tall geyser in the center. This geyser can shoot water up to 50 feet (15 meters) high! The swans in the design are a clever play on Dr. Swann's name.

Fun in the Fountain

When the weather gets warm, many people enjoy swimming in the fountain. This has been a long-standing tradition in Philadelphia. For a short time in 2006, swimming was not allowed. However, the ban was lifted in 2009. Now, people can cool off and have fun in the water again.

Art Around the Fountain

The Swann Memorial Fountain is right in the center of Logan Circle. It's also the middle point of the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. This parkway has sculptures by three generations of the Calder family!

Stirling Calder's father, Alexander Milne Calder, designed the William Penn statue. This statue sits on top of City Hall.
Stirling Calder himself created the Swann Fountain.
His son, Alexander Calder, made the Ghosts mobile. You can see it at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Because of this family connection, some people jokingly called the three sculptures "the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost."

Fountain in Pop Culture

The Swann Fountain has appeared in different forms of entertainment.

The pop punk band The Wonder Years mentioned it in their songs. Their song "Logan Circle" starts with "They turned on the fountain today at Logan Circle."
Another Philadelphia emo band, Algernon Cadwallader, has a song called "Spit Fountain."
The fountain is also featured in the Philly level of the video game Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2.
It even appeared in an episode of the TV show It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.

Fun facts about the fountain

During warm weather, it's a long-standing tradition for people in Philadelphia to swim in the fountain. For a short time in 2006, swimming was not allowed. But by 2009, the ban was removed, and people could swim there again.

The Swann Memorial Fountain is not just the center of Logan Circle. It's also the middle point of the Ben Franklin Parkway. This parkway has sculptures by three generations of the Calder family.

Alexander Stirling Calder's father, Alexander Milne Calder, designed the statue of William Penn. This statue is on top of City Hall at one end of the parkway.
Stirling Calder's son, Alexander Calder, created the Ghosts mobile sculpture. This artwork is at the Philadelphia Museum of Art at the other end.

Because of this, some people in the area jokingly called the three sculptures "the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost."

For many years, beautiful Paulownia trees surrounded the fountain. These trees have since been replaced.