Submitted by Frummage t3_11cgty2 in philadelphia
I remember that kids used to swim in the fountains either side of the Art Museum steps (way before Rocky ran them). When did they shut down those fountains, and why? I can't find anything on line right now.
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It's not as much fun to swim in them in winter.
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I recall someone asking this question a couple years ago and someone else said they've been shut down since sometime in the 90's because they leak quite badly?
OP’s not talking about the fountains in the Oval (which yeah, shut down in the winter) but the tiered ones astride the steps themselves, which haven’t been run in decades. A thread from a few years ago said it’s because of plumbing issues.
The last time I remember the fountains on either side of the steps being turned on was 2002. I have a photo of it somewhere in a box.
All fountains have plumbing issues. The real reason is that they're owned and maintained by the city and the city doesn't care to pay for them.
Plumbing aside, you just know kids had to have been jumping from one pool pit to another. City doesn’t seem to mind kids playing in the regular fountains, but this would be such a liability today. Wouldn’t surprise me if a kid or 2 already have drowned in them from when they were running. They would basically need a pay a cop/security to just be standing around during the summer months to prevent anyone going in it.
It’s a shame though. Someone once posted a album from the 70s that was full of shots of the steps with the fountains on, and they add so much value to the beauty of those steps.
This is a surprisingly Philly song.
They have a lot of very Philly songs. Washington Square Park, Melrose Diner, My Geraldine Lies Over the Delaware, Logan Circle, and Came Out Swinging. I was huge into the Wonder Years as an angsty teen and the fact that they were a South Philly band was just the icing on the cake.
I'm not huge into pop punk these days, but they're worth a listen. At least, their first 4 albums are. The Upsides, Suburbia: I've Given You All and Now I'm Nothing, The Greatest Generation, and even No Closer to Heaven. Burst and Decay is an acoustic version of some of their stuff, which I love, but I haven't enjoyed anything they've done since then.
My guess is liability. With those steep drops, the didn't want kids swimming in them.
Can't wait to see them in March (:
I just saw them I October! I'd say they still put on a hell of a show. I saw them at the Starlamd Ballroom in North Jersey and it was an intense show. You're going to have a great time!
Maybe when the museum builds under the steps they will also pay for the fountains to get fixed.
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I need to find this album
Not the only song about the fountain.
https://imgur.com/MViAkUE the only pic i could find of them running
The Upsides by the Wonder Years
Yep this is the reason.
There are a lot of inactive fountains all over the city in various parks that haven't been turned on in decades, all because the city doesn't give a shit about them and puts in no effort to maintain them.
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venkersteell t1_ja34o2j wrote
I think they shut them down during winter months.