Bartholdi Fountain - View this location on map The elaborate tiered cast iron fountain by Frederic Auguste Bartholdi, sculptor of the Statue of Liberty, has graced the grounds of the Botanic Garden since 1878. It was purchased by the federal government for $6,000 after being exhibited to great acclaim along with the right hand of Liberty at the Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition of 1876. The fountain exemplifies the fashion for civic embellishment in French Second Empire taste, while also demonstrating a virtuoso use of new technologies in public art. Rising 30 feet high above a marble pool, and originally plated in bronze, its three colossal caryatids hold aloft a large water basin, attended by tritons, reptiles, and dolphins. The garland of twelve light globes circling the rim of the basin was one of the first outdoor displays of electric lighting in the city and helped make the fountain a public attraction. 2nd Street and Independence Avenue, SW, Washington , DC Historical

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