The "Lancaster's Fountain At Center Square" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Standing in front of the fountain that was in front of the bank in the center square in the town of Lancaster, Pennsylvania.  The fountain was designed and built by Edmund W. Whiting and was the second largest fountain in Lancaster behind the metal fountain at Lancaster's Park City Center that was designed by my good friend and fellow teacher, Stan Lipman.  Stan's fountain was larger, but Mr. Whiting's sculptured fountain was the oldest, having been finished sometime in 1972, fifty years ago!  At the time I was close to 30 years old and enjoyed seeing the water cascade down the metal walls of the fountain in the center of town.  The fountain was commissioned by the Commonwealth Bank which at the time was right behind it in Lancaster's Square.  Many people stood in front of it and tried to figure out what the artist meant it to be when he made it.  Was it supposed to be part of a globe, one fellow said to me while I stood looking at it.  Another lady said she loved abstract designs such as the new fountain.  Another said they enjoyed the patina that covered the fountain which was made from copper panels that had been welded together.  It was noisy with the water bubbling up from the bottom of the fountain.  Mr. Whiting, the artist who made the fountain, was the chairman of Franklin & Marshall College's art department and made the sculpture while on sabbatical during the time he made the sculpture.  It took close to a ton of copper to make the sculpture.  The sculpture was designed and made to enhance the center of Lancaster, but was also designed to help eliminate the traffic noise in the square due to the sound of the rushing water.  

Fountain in downtown Lancaster

The fountain covers a circular 16 foot area on the south-west corner of the square.  Mr. Whiting decided to make the fountain from copper after toying with other designs in fiberglass and granite.  Mr. Whiting has been active in Lancaster's art scene for years.  He at one time was a pilot in the Royal Canadian Air Force as well as a pilot in the English Royal Air Force.  Even though the fountain sculpture as now 50 years old, it still draws viewers as they either walk or drive past the fountain in Lancaster's Center Square.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

Another view of the Lancaster sculpture.