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Lincoln Center's splashy new fountain
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New Lincoln Center fountain, designed by Mark Fuller. Photo courtesy of WET
“Meet me at the fountain!” people planning to meet up at Lincoln Center have said, ever since 1964, when architect Philip Johnson’s minimalist, black, granite landmark first opened to the public. I know I’ve said it dozens, probably hundreds of times.
Now, when you rush to meet your date before the opera or ballet, you may be in for a shock. A new fountain has replaced the old one and it’s much, well … splashier. Gone is the heavy, matte-black fountain wall that everyone loved to sit on—or climb on, depending on their age. In it’s place is a thin, high-gloss ring that appears to hover over the water, like a shiny, black UFO. When I sat on it the other night, next to several camera-clicking tourists, I half expected we’d slowly begin to rise into the night sky.
In fact, it’s the water jets themselves that are capable of rising into the sky—25 feet high, to be exact. The new fountain is programmed to perform elaborate “water ballets”—hour-an-a-half-long sequences of water-spouting patterns, according to reports.
Unfortunately—or fortunately, as the case may be—when I stopped by on Saturday night, the fountain was not performing any special tricks. Instead, it was shooting up ordinary, five-or-six-foot water spurts. Could it be that the newly-refurbished, famous, landmark fountain goes into sleep mode before 10:00 PM?
Designed by Mark Fuller, CEO of WET, who worked with Philip Johnson on various water projects, back in the day, the new fountain is a tour de force of technology. A specially-programmed computer, a half a mile of pipes, and an underground engineering room are necessary to make the thing work.
Still, it remains to be seen whether or not New Yorkers will accept the new fountain as a beloved landmark. Will the day ever come when it is considered on a par with the classic Grand Central clock? Possibly not. Some Gothamites have already opined that the new fountain is “just too Vegas.”
But what I want to know is, too Vegas for what? The way I see it, if you’re going to put on a show, you should go all the way. I’m talking colors—red, blue, yellow, purple, orange and green lights—spouts of brilliantly-colored water, dancing in kaleidoscopic patterns throughout the night. And one thing is certain--if you’re going to have a New York landmark, it’s got to stay up past 10:00 PM. As everyone knows—or at least should know—New York is the city that never sleeps.
To read more about New York landmarks, click on the links below:
New York Museums: how to get in for free
The Met: the city’s best winter hangout
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