Temperance Fountain, (sculpture).

Temperance Fountain, (sculpture).

Cogswell, Henry D., 1819-1900, designer.

Monumental Bronze Company, founder.

Temperance Fountain, (sculpture).

Cogswell Fountain, (sculpture).

ca. 1880. Installed 1884. Reinstalled Dec. 1987.

Digital Reference:

Sculpture: bronze or zinc; Base: granite.

Overall: approx. H. 14 ft.; Fish sculpture: approx. H. 4 ft. 8 in.; Figure base: approx. H. 3 ft. 7 in. Diam. 2 ft. 3 in.

(Base of fish:) PRESENTED BY/DR. HENRY D. COGSWELL/OF SAN FRANCISCO CAL (Top of temple:) TEMPERANCE/FAITH/HOPE/CHARITY unsigned

Miniature greek temple with open sides and four columns, one on each corner. A sculpture of a water crane standing next to a tall reed of bamboo rests on the roof of the temple and inside the temple is a circular base supporting a sculpture of two entwined fish. Water for the fountain pours from the open mouths of the fish and over the sides of the circular base. The temple rests on a two tiered square base.

Architecture -- Classical -- Temple

Animal -- Bird -- Crane

Outdoor Sculpture -- District of Columbia -- Washington

Administered by United States Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Washington, District of Columbia

Located Pennsylvania Avenue & 7th Street, N.W., Washington, District of Columbia

In the 1870s and 1880s, Dr. Henry Cogswell, a San Francisco dentist, erected sixteen temperance fountains of his own design in various cities around the country to give citizens an alternative to drinking alcoholic beverages. Although the design of each fountain varied, most featured symbols of animals and marine life, and a few included a portrait of Dr. Cogswell. Many of the fountains do not survive because they were torn down by citizen groups.

The District of Columbia's fountain was created at Monumental Bronze Company in Bridgeport, Connecticut in the early 1880s and was accepted by Congress on July 6, 1882. Originally, it was erected over an artesian well and had an iron dipper chained to the side, but the dipper was removed when concern for the spread of germs became an issue. The sculpture was then hooked into the city's water system. Also gone is the horse trough which once rested below the fish sculpture to catch the overflow of water.

The sculpture was removed from the plaza briefly during renovation of the site and a refurbished fountain was reinstalled in December 1987 about fifty feet from the original site. In 1940, California Senator Sheridan Downey tried and failed to have this sculpture permanently replaced with a more artistic sculpture. IAS files contain related articles from the Washington Daily News, April 11, 1945; The Rambler (District of Columbia), October 25, 1956; and the Washington Star, April 12, 1945 which detail the objections raised by Senator Downey who called the temperance fountain a "monstrosity of art." IAS files also contain related articles from the Washington Post, Dec. 13, 1987 and City Paper (District of Columbia), Jan. 3, 1982.

IAS files also contain an excerpt from Jannelle Warren-Findley's Aug. 1, 1985 report for the National Park Service entitled, "A Guide to Selected Statues, Monuments and Memorials," National Capital Parks - Central, National Park Service, Washington, D.C. (RFQ 3-4-1919) which includes a brief maintenance history, a list of bibliographic sources, and notes to additional information found in National Park Service files. The Park Service report notes that the sculpture medium is most likely zinc and notes sources which support this argument. Also, the foundry where the piece was cast, Monumental Bronze, worked only in "white bronze" which is actually zinc.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, District of Columbia survey, 1993.

Goode, James M., "The Outdoor Sculpture of Washington, D.C., A Comprehensive Historical Guide," Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1974, pg. 358-359.

Michael Richman, SAAM curatorial assistant, 1967-1969.

Goode, James M., "The Outdoor Sculpture of Washington, D.C., A Comprehensive Historical Guide," Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1974, J-1.

The information provided about this artwork was compiled as part of the Smithsonian American Art Museum's Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture database, designed to provide descriptive and location information on artworks by American artists in public and private collections worldwide.

Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture, Smithsonian American Art Museum, P.O. Box 37012, MRC 970, Washington, D.C. 20013-7012

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