Our story begins back in 1924, when the idea of the Brookfield Zoo was still fairly new. Its groundbreaking ceremony had occurred only two years earlier, and its funding problems were only beginning.
A group of citizens formed the Roosevelt Memorial Association of Chicago, in order to arrange and finance a memorial monument to former United States President Theodore Roosevelt. A year later, on March 18, 1925, $29,397.42 had been collected and turned over to the Trustees of the B.F. Ferguson Fund, which were a committee of trustees of the Art Institute of Chicago.
The plans moved forward “for the erection of a memorial of such character, and at such time as the trustees might, in their own discretion, determine upon.”
In other words, the trustees would have the say when the time was right, and what form the memorial might take. Apparently the trustees weren’t in any hurry.
The Ferguson Fund increased over the next 28 years, with nothing firmly decided upon during that time. On March 6, 1953, the total had increased to $53,203.08, which was then paid over to the Chicago Zoological Society. The work on the fountain memorial officially began, and the society contributed an addition of approximately $35,000 to the creation of the Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Fountain.
This watery memorial was designed by sculptor Sylvia Shaw Judson, who donated her services free of charge. Judson, along with Edwin H. Clark, the architectural firm of Olsen and Urbain and Russell Read would design another water-based exhibit, the Seven Seas Panorama, some seven years later.
The design of the fountain was then approved by the trustees of the Ferguson Fund, of whom Samuel A. Marx, Percy B. Eckhardt and the deceased Alfred E. Hamil were particularly concerned with the project.
But first there was a little test to be made. On Tuesday, April 14, 1953, the Brookfield Fire Department was called upon to help out. It may see a little strange that people who fought fires would have to deal with a fountain of water. However, as everyone knows, firemen do use water. So Brookfield Fire Chief Fred McDowell set up a hose connected to a single test fountain on the site between the zoo’s two grassy areas, known as The Mall.
Watching the test, as water jetted up to between 55 to 75 feet, were Robert Bean, the zoo’s director: Sylvia Shaw Judson, representing the Ferguson Foundation and architect Russell Read. A slight southerly breeze sprayed the water at the fountain’s crest. This is a phenomenon still observable today during medium to high winds and, in the summer especially, is much appreciated by children (and the young at heart) who want to get wet.
Notes were taken during the test, and used in the design and physical creation process of the $85,000 memorial. Over the next year, work on the fountain and 215-foot diameter pool slowly continued.
It was a bright, blue sky on Friday, May 14, 1954 when the Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Fountain was at last dedicated. At 4 p.m. the ceremony commenced. In addition to some 700 persons attending the event were Clay Judson, president of the Chicago Zoological Society; Martin J. Kennelly, the mayor of Chicago; William Erickson, president of the Cook County Board; and Robert Bean, director of the Brookfield Zoo.
Finally, the 26th President of the United States was going to be honored with his own long-planned memorial. Clay Judson began by speaking of the long process by which the fountain had come to fruition, giving credit to the many individuals who had contributed to its construction. Said Judson further:
“I am also very glad that Mr. Hermann Hagedorn, a distinguished scholar and historian, and Director of the Theodore Roosevelt Association in New York, is with us today as a representative of the Theodore Roosevelt tradition, and of the Roosevelt family.
“There will pass by this fountain, every year, a million-and-a-half to two million people. It is a significant and artistic addition to this community, and a worthy tribute to the memory of Theodore Roosevelt, one of America’s great men. It is a great pleasure, on behalf of the Chicago Zoological Society, to dedicate this fountain.”
With that, Judson gave the signal which put the fountain into operation. The assembled watchers “oohed” and “ahhed” as, according to the Chicago Tribune, the center jet shot water 70 feet high, with three others gushing up 45 feet, and eight others spraying 28 feet into the springtime sunshine. Water then descended at the rate of 5,600 gallons a minute into the circular pool.
Surrounding the pool was a grassy, shrubbed strip, in which at various points were set four bronze animal heads, sculpted by Sylvia Shaw Judson and placed on bases of Bedford limestone. Each head commemorated a particular aspect of Roosevelt’s noteworthy career as statesman, naturalist, hunter, and soldier.
The light-gold-colored, sculpted heads of the American moose and elk, and also the heads of the African kudu and water buffalo thus paid tribute to Roosevelt’s wilderness conservation policies and to his expeditions into Africa.
And so the deed was done. The memorial that had taken 30 years of planning was, at last, a finalized reality. The water for the fountain could either be drawn from the zoo’s own 2,200 foot deep well or from the Brookfield-North Riverside Water Commission’s link to Lake Michigan.
A little over a week later, on Sunday May 23, 1954 Brookfield police began patrolling the village and notifying residents of a water shortage emergency due to a leakage, and advising people to sprinkle lawns and gardens, even though the weather was warm.
But the zoo fountain, and some residents who could still draw water from their own private wells, were unaffected.
Though simply designed, the Roosevelt Fountain has, for the last 50 years been a highly visible part of the average zoo-goer’s experience due to its exact central location between the north and south gates of the zoo, the width of the pool basin, and of course, the sprays of water jetting into the air as though released through the blowholes of a dozen whales.
The fountain is not always in operation, but is generally shut down for the winter. Currently a sheet of ice still lays on the surface of the pool; awaiting what seems the elusive, warm, melting days of spring.
Gusher: The first waters of the Roosevelt Fountain shoot high into the air (above) on Nov. 14 1954 as (far right) Clay Judson, president of the Chicago Zoological Society gives the signal. Standing with Judson are (from left) Herman Hagedorn, director of the Roosevelt Memorial Association; William Erickson, Cook County Board president; and Robert Bean, zoo director. At left are two of the four bronze animal heads representing aspects of Roosevelt’s career. (Photos courtesy of Chris Stach)