Burnside Fountain
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| Artist | Henry Bacon, architect Charles Y. Harvey, sculptor |
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| Year | 1912 |
| Type | Bronze |
| Location | Worcester, Massachusetts |
Burnside Fountain is a drinking fountain at the southeast corner of Worcester Common in Worcester, Massachusetts. Intended to provide fresh water for people, horses and dogs, its pink granite watering trough and pedestal were designed by architect Henry Bacon, who later designed the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC.[1] Atop its pedestal sits Boy with a Turtle, a bronze statue of a youth riding a hawksbill sea turtle, created by sculptor Charles Y. Harvey. The statue is affectionately nicknamed "Turtle Boy."[2]
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[edit] History
Harriett Pamela Foster Burnside gave $5,000 to the city of Worcester in 1904 to create the drinking fountain. Daniel Chester French was chosen for the sculpture – he supervised Harvey, who actually designed and modeled it. Sherry Fry completed the statue after Harvey's untimely death.[3] Originally, water poured from the turtle's mouth into the main trough, divided into four drinking basins for horses. On the opposite side, a lower trough provided water for dogs.[1] Dedicated in memory of Burnside's father, the fountain began functioning in 1912.[1]
In the late-nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century, there was growing concern over the difficult lives of horses that provided transportation in cities. Philanthropists wishing to ease the burden of these animals provided public watering troughs. Some were simple, but others were works of art, of which the Burnside Fountain is an example.
The statue comes to life as a Peter-Pan-like character in The Cloud Bird, a 1916 children's book by Margaret C. Getchell.[4]
The fountain was originally located in Central Square, but was moved across the street to its current location in 1969.[1] The half-ton statue was stolen in 1970, but eventually returned. Multiple attempts to purloin it have been foiled.[2]
[edit] "Turtle Boy"
"Turtle Boy" has become famous in popular culture because of bawdy insinuations about what it portrays.[5]
In the tradition of the Manneken Pis in Brussels, "Turtle Boy" is now a mascot for Worcester: a local music contest is named the Turtle Boy Music Award;[6] a local brewer produces Turtle Boy Blueberry Ale,[7] and the Turtle Boy Urban Gardeners, a group of volunteers, maintain the garden surrounding the fountain.[8]
In 2010 the Burnside Fountain was named one of WAAF's "Hill-Man's 25 Greatest Places in Massachusetts."[9] That same year, it was also nominated for "Worst Public Art in New England" by a regional Art blog.[10]
A movement is underway to restore the piece as a functioning fountain. It has been estimated that $40,000 to $60,000 will have to be raised for the project.[4]
[edit] External links
- Artworks in our Parks: An Inventory of Public memorials, Worcester, Massachusetts
- Turtle Boy fan page
- Turtle Boy Music Awards
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d Smithsonian Art Inventories Catalog Control Number 87630006
- ^ a b City Desk: Until the return of Turtle Boy. Worcester Magazine. June 3, 2004. Accessed May 30, 2010
- ^ DPW Parks, Recreation & Cemetery - City Hall Common Monuments
- ^ a b "Turtle Boy nears 100" from Worcester Telegram & Gazette, February 28, 2011.
- ^ Worcester Telegram & Gazette Albert B. Southwick
- ^ Worcester Magazine - Play it again, Turtle Boy
- ^ The Beer Nut: What's brewing in Wormtown? Taunton Daily Gazette, March 24, 2010
- ^ TBUG
- ^ Durgin, Brittany, Turtle Boy named as one of greatest. Worcester Magazine. August 10, 2010. Accessed November 12, 2010
- ^ Cookland, Greg. Worst Public Art: Burnside Fountain?. The New England Journal of Aesthetic Research. November 3, 2010. Accessed November 12, 2010
Coordinates: 42°15′41.3″N 71°48′0.82″W / 42.261472°N 71.8002278°W
