Prospect Park

The Daily Plant : Tuesday, August 10, 2004

BAILEY FOUNTAIN BUBBLES BACK

On July 28, Parks & Recreation and the Prospect Park Alliance welcomed back one of New York City’s most treasured icons. The ribbon cutting for Bailey Fountain, located at the Arch in Grand Army Plaza, Brooklyn, was a dramatic affair, featuring Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz decked out in a white dinner jacket and black bow tie, nearly a dozen models adorned with Brooklyn bridal fashions, a wedding cake tasting with some of the borough’s hottest wedding cake designers, a surprise birthday celebration for Prospect Park Administrator Tupper Thomas, and, most scintillating of all, the switching on of Bailey Fountain. Parks & Recreation Borough Commissioner Julius Spiegel led the countdown to the breathtaking moment.

"Next to the Brooklyn Bridge, the arch and fountain are the most iconic of Brooklyn’s structures," said Tupper Thomas. "As a 35-year resident of Brooklyn, it was thrilling beyond words to see the fountain work so beautifully."

A centerpiece of Grand Army Plaza, Prospect Park’s grandest entrance, Bailey Fountain was completed in 1932. The fountain features allegorical figures often interpreted as Wisdom and Fertility. The $1.5 million reconstruction of Bailey Fountain was funded by the Mayor’s Office and the New York City Council. Additional funding for the horticultural work in the plaza was provided by the Vanneck Bailey Foundation, descendants of the fountain’s original benefactor, Frank Bailey.

Fully restored, repaired, and landscaped, Bailey Fountain is ready to resume its role as backdrop in countless wedding portraits. In recognition of the fountain’s importance to New York’s brides and grooms, the ribbon cutting ceremony featured Brooklyn bridal fashions and a wedding cake tasting. Nearly a dozen wedding dresses were on view, ranging from traditional white gowns to the pinnacle of Williamsburg hip, from rock n’ roll chic to African-inspired creations. Custom wedding cakes provided by three leading Brooklyn emporiums were admired for their aesthetics and promptly devoured.

"For Brooklynites who have eagerly awaited the return of one of our borough’s most beautiful public spaces at Grand Army Plaza, the wait is over. Today, Prospect Park, where the designers got it right, gets back one of its crown jewels, as the Bailey Fountain gurgles back to life," said Borough President Markowitz. "We all thank the Prospect Park Alliance and its tireless leader, Tupper Thomas, for guiding the shining star of Brooklyn’s parks back to the glorious splendor it deserves."

QUOTATION FOR THE DAY

"The art of losing isn’t hard to master;
so many things seem filled with the intent
to be lost that their loss is no disaster."

Elizabeth Bishop
From "One Art," 1971