The Chicago Park District never activated the Buckingham Fountain in Chicago during the Covid issues of 2020. I visited in the evening this summer with color film for the evening light and music presentation.

Buckingham Fountain by Paul Sager, on Flickr


Buckingham Fountain is a Chicago landmark in the center of Grant Park. Dedicated in 1927, it is one of the largest fountains in the world.

Buckingham Fountain


The fountain was donated to the city by Kate Buckingham in memory of her brother, Clarence Buckingham, and was constructed at a cost of $750,000. The fountain's official name is the Clarence Buckingham Memorial Fountain. Originally from Zanesville, Ohio, the Buckingham family made its fortune in grain elevators, real estate and steel. Kate (1858 – 1937) and her brother Clarence Buckingham (1854 – 1913) were both avid art collectors and benefactors who donated valuable prints, paintings, sculptures, and objects to the Art Institute of Chicago.

Buckingham Fountain


The Willis Tower, built as and still commonly referred to as the Sears Tower, is a 110-story skyscraper in Chicago. When constructed in 1973, it was the tallest in the world. It remains in the top 10, now at #8.

Buckingham Fountain


This selection mixes fresh Kodak Ektar 100 with expired Fuji Press 800, used with Canon EF lenses and the Canon EOS 1v film camera. The details of the exposure, lenses and film types are available from the host Flickr pages, just use the URL links of the image titles to access. The film was developed and scanned by North Coast Photo of Carlsbad, CA. The resulting JPEGs were processed in Adobe Lightroom v6.

Buckingham Fountain


Built in a Rocky rococo wedding cake style and inspired by the Latona Fountain at the Palace of Versailles, it is meant to allegorically represent Lake Michigan. It operates from April to October, with regular water shows and evening color-light shows.

Buckingham Fountain


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