The Most Popular Fountains on College Campuses

Fountains have served as public sculptures as far back as Ancient Greece. They are like little oases within developed areas, places to stop and reflect. Many city parks are organized around impressive fountains, and in Las Vegas the fountain has become a spectacle show of its own. Often, colleges have grand fountains at their entrances, welcoming new students and visitors to campus. Fountains have become an integral part of university architecture, and they have even found their way into strange college traditions that involve taking a (usually nude) swim in the murky water. Get to know the watery stars of university life with The Most Popular Fountains on College Campuses.

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Name: Frog Fountain
Location: Fort Worth, Texas
Year: 2008
Designer: David Hoyler

There is no way that you can't be into Frog Fountain. It makes you feel like you're living in Alice in Wonderland without all the psychedelics. Hoyler chose lotus leaves because of their symbolic association with education.

Name: Showalter Fountain
Location: Bloomington, Ind.
Year: 1961
Designer: Robert Laurent

Okay, we agree that the dolphins might be a little cheesy. It appears as though the students on campus agree since the sea creatures have experienced a lot of vandalism over the years. But this fountain is centrally located so that you can eat lunch or do your work without being cramped up in a little library.

Name: Dillingham Fountain
Location: Ithaca, N.Y.
Year: c. 1969
Designer: Unknown

Ithaca College is known for its impressive fountains that stand in the foreground of the Finger Lakes. There might not be much to do in Upstate New York, but at least you always have a great view. Per tradition, each year graduating students jump into the lit fountain at night.

Name: Regent University Fountain
Location: Virginia Beach, Va.
Year: Unknown
Designer: Unknown

What we like about Regent University's fountain is its true classical beauty. The design might not be innovative or aesthetically challenging, but sometimes it's all about just being pretty.

Name: Clarke Memorial Fountain
Location: South Bend, Ind.
Year: 1983
Designer: John Burgee and Philip Johnson

You may wonder what Stonehenge is doing in Indiana until you realize that this is a copy. There is a metal globe in the middle, which symbolizes a spiritual presence. The Notre Dame football team has to run into the fountain whenever they win a big game.

Name: Fountain Court
Location: Cambridge, England
Year: 1960
Designer: Chamberlin, Powell and Bon

Murray Edwards, the all-girls school of Cambridge University, has a popular fountain that looks more like the entrance to a spaceship than a decorative water sculpture.

Name: The Legacy Fountain
Location: Tallahassee, Fla.
Year: 2005
Designer: Edward Jonas

Figurative sculpture fountains usually have a story to tell. The Legacy Fountain represents the FSU's evolution from a women's liberal arts college into the coeducational research university. A popular tradition on campus is to get thrown into the fountain on your birthday.

Name: Washington Square Park Fountain
Location: New York
Year: 1934
Designer: Robert Moses

It has become common knowledge that Washington Square Park used to be a burial ground and that there are still nearly 20,000 dead bodies lying underneath the feet of excited tourists. The discomfort doesn't stop there. People love to wade in the dirty fountain water during the summer time.

Name: Gavin Herbert Plaza (Finger Fountain)
Location: Los Angeles
Year: Unknown
Designer: Unknown

Students at USC call this fountain the "Finger Fountain" because it looks like a middle finger pointed in the direction of their rival school, UCLA. People jump into this fountain, and the other 30 fountains on campus, for the Seniors' Fountain Run that happens every year.

Name: Fulbright Peace Fountain
Location: Fayetteville, Ark.
Year: 1998
Designer: Fay Jones and Maurice Jennings

This fountain is possibly one of the most unconventional ones out there. It looks like a hybrid of a skyscraper and a pine tree standing in a pool of water. We're unsure, however, how this fountain represents peace.

Name: "When I Was a Student" Memorial Fountain
Location: McMinnville, Ore.
Year: 1990
Designer: Georgia Gerber

The five life-size student figures are sculpted in a realistic manner to represent the progression of the university experience. The fountain rests in the center of campus, displaying the sitting and standing students around a large fountain and bench area that was designed by the artist.

Name: White Memorial Fountain (The Claw)
Location: Stanford, Calif.
Year: 1964
Designer: Aristides "Aris" Demetrios

Demetrios is a celebrated sculptor who can transform any boring fountain into an art piece. Like the students at Stanford, he does not settle for anything less than mediocre. Before the rivalry game against UC-Berkeley, Stanford holds a mock-somber “burial” of UC’s mascot Oski the Bear. At the end, an effigy of the bear is impaled on top of the sculpture.

Name: Littlefield Fountain
Location: Austin, Texas
Year: 1933
Designer: Pompeo Coppini

Littlefield Fountain, the World War I memorial at the University of Texas, looks like many fountains found in Western Europe. It's hard not to feel regal when walking onto campus.

Name: Chapman University Global Citizen's Plaza
Location: Orange, Calif.
Year: 2009
Designer: Formosa Fountains

This fountain has a stainless steel globe that rotates once a minute and is covered by water flow. It's even cooler with the reflection of the surrounding flags on the globe to represent the community at Chapman University.

Name: Frank Lloyd Wright Water Dome
Location: Lakeland, Fla.
Year: 2007
Designer: Frank Lloyd Wright

Although it only premiered in 2007, it took 69 years for this stunning fountain to be finalized by the world renown architect Frank Lloyd Wright. It's much more of a spectacle than it is decorative. Students also like to break the rules and swim in it at night, but who wouldn't in that humid Florida weather?

Name: Revson Water Fountain
Location: New York
Year: 1964
Designer: Philip Johnson

We couldn't tell you what is more beautiful, the inside of the Met Opera or the Revson Fountain in Lincoln Center. Both reflect the height of New York class and culture.

Name: Anna Bing Arnold Plaza and Sculpture Garden (The Inverted Fountain)
Location: Los Angeles
Year: 1968
Designer: Howard Troller

The Inverted Fountain truly looks like a traditional fountain if it were flipped inside out. There are rumors that the USC architect who created the Inverted Fountain made it look like a toilet to get his rivalry revenge for UCLA. People also enjoy standing in the middle of the fountain as if they are about to get flushed down.

Name: Purdue Mall Water Sculpture (Engineering Fountain)
Location: West Lafayette, Ind.
Year: 1989
Designer: Robert Youngman

Some might not associate Indiana with contemporary art, but Youngman's water sculpture proves that this simply is not the case. Despite its concrete facade, the fountain reflects the fluidity of water. Some even dare to run through the fountain on hot days.

Name: Trident Fountain
Location: Spartanburg, S.C.
Year: 1987
Designer: Harold Krisel

Like USC, it was hard to choose just one fountain on Wofford Campus. The Trident Fountain is impressive because it is essentially very simple and aesthetically pleasing. And for those who haven't brushed up on their art history, the three fountains represent the trident of Poseidon, the god of the sea.

Name: Water Forms II
Location: Los Angeles
Year: 1979
Designer: George Baker

Occidental's Water Forms II, a kinetic fountain designed by professor George Baker, is a campus landmark. It was actually featured prominently in the 1984 film Star Trek III: The Search for Spock. We love this fountain for its contemporary design that reminds us of Brancusi, the king of modern sculpture.