Fountains.
Artificial fountains and jets d’eau are of extreme antiquity; they have been used for beautifying public grounds of cities, and have served the purpose of moderating the temperature of the air; in these cases the water has been in some instances perfumed.
“From excavations made at Pompeii it appears that in almost every street there was a fountain, and that bronze statues, through which the water issued were common,—several have been found,—four or five are boys of beautiful workmanship; the fluid issued from vases resting on their shoulders, or held under their arms, and in some cases from masks. Paintings of elegant fountains, from which the water issued in perpendicular jets, have also been discovered both at Herculaneum and Pompeii.”
“In the middle of the square of the Coliseum, is a pretty remarkable piece of antiquity, (says Blainville,) though very little minded by most people. Here stood anciently, a beautiful fountain, adorned with the finest marbles and columns; and on the top was a bronze statue of Jupiter, from which issued great plenty of water, as may be seen on the reverse of one of Titus’ medals. This fountain was of great use both to the spectators and the gladiators in the amphitheatre to refresh themselves. Pope Alexander VII. caused it to be repaired, but since his time it has been entirely neglected.”
“During hot weather, Augustus the Roman Emperor slept (observes Sentonius) with his chamber doors open, ‘and frequently in a portico with waters playing around him.’”
The garden water-works of the Duke of Devonshire at Chatsworth are probably the finest in England; being ornamented by many fanciful devices and from a jet of six inches diameter the water rises perpendicularly to the height of 90 feet.
The most remarkable fountain or jet d’eau in the world, is at Cassal in Germany, where the water rises from an orifice of 12 inches diameter to a perpendicular height of 250 feet. The source from which it is supplied is at the top of a mountain near by, being about 500 feet above the level of the town. The surplus water not used for the supply of the fountain flows down the mountain-side forming a beautiful cascade.
The cities of Europe abound in fountains which in their arrangement furnish beautiful designs and are ornamented with specimens of workmanship displaying much skill and refinement of taste: a minute description of them would, however, occupy too much space, and since we have had our attention drawn (on the subject of Aqueducts) more particularly to the works of the Romans, we will revert to the
Fountains of Rome.
“If during the most distinguished eras of the Roman state, the Aqueducts conduced to the luxurious enjoyments of the wealthy and powerful, yet in modern times, the residents of Rome have also found them particularly advantageous, by their furnishing occasions for the cultivation of those elegant arts, which, in a peculiar manner, call forth the energies of genius, and the exercise of refined taste, in realizing and decorating her productions. Qualities of this kind appear conspicuous in several of the numerous fountains which adorn that celebrated city; and the most intellectual and accomplished professors of sculpture and architecture, have happily united beauty and grandeur in the construction of many such admirable edifices. These structures are also characterized by great diversity of design, as well as skilful execution; hence, a concise description of several of them may be interesting.”
“The largest structure of this kind in Rome, is that denominated the Pauline Fountain, which was built by order of Pope Paul V., with the materials of Nerva’s Forum. This spacious edifice is situate on the highest part of the Janiculum hill, and Dominica Fontana, and Carlo Mederno, furnished the designs for its construction. The front is adorned with six Ionic columns of red granite, on which an attic has a tablet containing an inscription with the pontiff’s arms placed above it. Between the columns the spaces are open, and from these arcades the currents of water flow with a loud noise, and in great abundance. The apertures on the sides are smaller than the others, and in each of those is placed a dragon spouting water into the spacious magnificent marble basin below. This fountain is furnished with water by the Aqueduct called Aqua Paolo; and it runs from the basin, in a very large stream into several canals, whence it is employed to work various corn, paper, and other mills, as well as to supply fountains and fish-ponds in the gardens and palaces of the opulent.”
“Near to the baths of Dioclesian, and in the square of the Termini, stands the fountain of the Aqua Felice. The edifice is not only elegant but fanciful, and it has three arcades ornamented with four Ionic columns of granite. The middle arcade has a colossal statue of Moses, causing the water to issue from the rock; and at the sides are two basso relievos, one representing Aaron leading the Israelites to the miraculous spring, and the other Gideon selecting the soldiers to enlarge the passage for the water, which flows in great abundance through three apertures into marble basins. The sides are adorned by four marble lions, with the water issuing from their mouths: two of these are formed of white Grecian marble, and the other two of black granite. The latter are Egyptian workmanship, and covered with hieroglyphics. This noble fountain was erected from a design of Cav. Fontana; by the order of Pope Sixtus V., and its supply of water is obtained twenty-two miles from the city.”
“Another of these fine structures is that called the Fountain of Trevi, in which boldness of design, and elegance of architecture are admirably united. The erection of this very magnificent edifice commenced during the pontificate of Clement XII., who repaired the Aqueducts. Niccolo Salvi designed the grand front, but the work was completed under Clement XIII., who decorated it with statues, basso relievos in marble, and different columns of the Corinthian, Ionic, and Composite orders. In the centre is a statue representing Oceanus, standing in a car, drawn by two large sea-horses, guided by Tritons. One of the horses appears furious and impatient, whilst, on the contrary, the other is exhibited as calm and placid, so that both are symbolical of the tempestuous or tranquil state of the sea.
‘Bounding to light, as if from ocean’s cave,
The struggling sea-horse paws the lucid wave,
While health and plenty smile, and Neptune’s form
Majestic sways the trident of the storm.’
“A statue, designating Abundance, is placed at the right of Oceanus, and on the left another emblematical of Health. The basso relievo, which adorns the right side, portrays the Emperor Trajan, contemplating a plan of the fountain; and that on the left exhibits a girl showing to some soldiers, the spring that supplies it with water. Various other sculptures decorate this superb edifice; and at the top of the principal front are two figures of Fame, supporting the arms of the Pope. Its supply of water is furnished by the Aqua Virgini, and it flows in very large streams from three arcades. The cost of constructing this splendid and useful fountain was great; but it ranks among the most interesting objects conspicuously embellishing the city of Rome.”
“The Piazza Novana has a very noble fountain standing in its centre. It is composed of a large circular marble basin 79 feet in diameter, in the middle of which is placed a rock of square form with apertures at the sides. The figure of a lion adorns one side, and that of a sea-horse another. From the base to the top of the rock, the height is about 14 feet; and on its summit stands an Egyptian obelisk formed of red granite, 55 feet in height, and covered with hieroglyphics. At the four sides of the rock are colossal marble statues, which designate the four great rivers in different quarters of the world: viz. the Danube, the Nile, the Ganges, and the Plata: and from these statues the water flows in copious streams to the spacious basin below.
‘The Nile and Ganges from the silver tide:
La Plata too, and Danube’s streams unite
Their liquid treasures, copious, clear and bright.’
“During the summer, it is the custom occasionally to permit the water to overflow the whole square, for the entertainment of the people; and on midsummer’s eve persons amuse themselves by wading and driving through the flood. This practice has sometimes been attended with fatal accidents, and not only men but horses have actually been drowned in the attempts to pass it in carriages.
“In the month of August the area of the square is likewise filled with water for the purpose of amusement.
“The same square likewise contains two other fountains, one of which consists of a capacious marble basin, having at its centre a Triton holding a dolphin by the tail; and on the margin of the basin are four heads with the same number of Tritons that spout the water from their mouths. The other fountain has not any remarkable characteristics to entitle it to peculiar attention.”
“Where formerly stood the circus of Flora is now the site of the Piazza Barberinni, which has two fountains to embellish it:—one of them being composed of four dolphins supporting a large open shell, with a Triton in the middle ejecting water to a great height. The other is fanciful, being also formed of an open shell, from which three bees throw out the water.”
“In the vicinity of the Temple of Vesta stands a handsome fountain, having a capacious basin, in which some Tritons support a large marble shell. From the centre of the latter, the water spouts to a considerable height, and then descending flows over its margin into the basin beneath. Some fine fountains adorn the magnificent colonnade in front of the Cathedral of St. Peter. The Piazza di Spagna has likewise for its embellishment, a fountain in the form of an antique boat. Besides the structures described above, there is a great number of other fountains which evince much diversity of taste and ingenuity in their contrivance. But at the different villas of the opulent, the abundance of water is rendered subservient to amusing as well as useful purposes, and several of them are rather singular. The description of one will convey some notion of what is common to many of them.
“The delightful promenades, groves, and gardens belonging to the Doria family, are interspersed with fountains of various forms; besides having a beautiful lake with waterfalls. Statues, antique basso relievos, and small fountains, adorn a kind of amphitheatre, where a circular edifice contains the marble figure of a fawn holding a flute, on which it seems to play different airs: the music, however, is produced by a machine resembling an organ in its construction, and motion being given to it by the flowing of the water from a cascade.”
“Perhaps the few instances recited above will suffice to demonstrate the different modes employed at Rome, for calling into exercise genius, fancy, and taste, to diversify the public edifices concerned with its abundant supply of water; thus rendering them subservient to magnificence, entertainment, and utility. Whilst John Dyer resided there, he viewed these celebrated fountains with the mingled feelings of the painter and the poet; hence, associating them with other interesting circumstances, they furnished the materials for one of his most striking and pathetic delineations.
‘The pilgrim oft,
At dead of night, ’mid his oraison hears
Aghast the voice of Time, disparting towers,
Tumbling all precipitate, down-dashed,
Rattling around, loud thundering to the moon;
While murmurs sooth each awful interval
Of ever-falling waters; shrouded Nile,
Eridanus, and Tiber with his twins,
And palmy Euphrates; they with dropping locks
Hang o’er their urns, and mournfully among
The plantive echoing ruins, pour their streams.’”
Ruins of Rome.
HISTORY
OF THE
PROGRESSIVE MEASURES FOR SUPPLYING
THE
CITY OF NEW-YORK WITH WATER.
As early as 1774, when the population of the city of New-York was only twenty-two thousand, the Corporation commenced the construction of a reservoir and other works for supplying water; and for the purpose of defraying the expense of the undertaking, issued a paper money, amounting to two thousand five hundred pounds, under the denomination of “Water Works Money,” and bonds were executed in favor of certain individuals for land and materials to the amount of eight thousand eight hundred and fifty pounds more.
A spacious reservoir was constructed on the east line of Broadway, between, what is now known as Pearl and White streets, and a well of large dimensions was sunk in the vicinity of the Collect. The war of the revolution, which commenced in 1775, and the consequent occupation of the city of New-York by the British troops, was the cause of the abandonment of the work in its unfinished state.
In the year 1798, Doctor Joseph Brown addressed a communication to the Common Council, strongly recommending the Bronx River as a source from which to obtain a supply of good water for the use of the citizens. This recommendation induced the Common Council to employ William Weston, Esquire, a Civil Engineer, to examine the subject, and he reported on the 16th of March, 1799, in favor of the practicability of introducing the water of the Bronx into the city. Neither of these gentlemen had used levels or made any survey of the country over which the water should be brought, nor was there any measurement obtained of the flow of the stream; consequently, their opinion was only founded on personal view, gained by walking over the ground.
In April, 1799, the Manhattan Company was incorporated by an act of the Legislature, and the object of this Company was declared to be, to supply the city with pure and wholesome water; but instead of looking for a supply from foreign sources, they resorted to the plan of furnishing the water from wells which they sunk within the city limits. Besides these wells of the Manhattan Company there were others subsequently sunk by the Corporation of the city, as well as by individual enterprise. Some of these wells were of great depth and capacity, having, in some instances, horizontal excavations at a considerable depth below the surface, branching off from the main shaft. Efforts of this kind, however, proved unsatisfactory, and much solicitude was felt by the citizens on account of the scarcity of pure water.
On the 17th of March, 1822, the Mayor among other measures suggested by him to the Common Council, brought to their consideration, the important question of supplying the city with pure and wholesome water, and requested its reference to a Committee, which was accordingly done. The Committee, of which the Mayor was one, proceeded to the principal source of the Bronx River, in the county of Westchester, known as the Rye Pond. They spent two days, the 20th and 21st of March, in exploring the country adjacent to the River and Sound, and at a meeting of the Common Council, on the first of April, the Mayor, as Chairman of the Committee, made a report of their observations, and recommended an appropriation, with authority to employ a competent engineer to survey and profile the whole line between the city and the main source of the river Bronx, and to ascertain the quantity of water it would afford, and an estimate of the probable cost of completing the project of supplying the city with good and wholesome water from the aforesaid source. The recommendation was concurred in, and the Mayor employed Canvas White, Esquire, a Civil Engineer, to make the said survey and estimate.
The yellow fever prevailed in the city during the summer of 1822, and shortly after the termination of the epidemic, on the 25th of November, the Mayor, in a communication to the Common Council, on subjects relative to the preservation of the public health, stated that a very important subject connected with the health of the city, was a sufficient supply of good water; and that on this subject all had been done that it was practicable, under existing circumstances, to perform; that arrangements had been made with Mr. White, a Civil Engineer of repute, to examine the several sources from which a supply was likely to be obtained, and to furnish correct surveys and profiles of the heights and depressions of the country through which the water must be conveyed, and that he had been requested to report as soon as it was practicable.
In 1823, the Sharon Canal Company was chartered by the State, and among its duties was that of supplying the city of New-York with pure and wholesome water. The work was not, however, undertaken.
In January, 1824, Mr. White made his report, which he prefaced as follows:—“That he had the honor of receiving a request from Stephen Allen, late Mayor, to make an examination and estimate of the expense of furnishing the city with a copious supply of good and wholesome water. Agreeably to that request, I have made the necessary surveys, levels and examinations to ascertain the practicability of the project,” &c. &c. At the same date, Benjamin Wright, Esq., reported to the Common Council on the same subject, which he prefaces as follows:—“In obedience to a request of your honorable body, communicated to me by Stephen Allen, Esq., late Mayor, in November last, desiring me to assist Canvas White, Esq., with my advice and counsel, as to the best method of supplying the city of New-York with plenty of good water, I beg leave to make the following report,” &c.
Mr. White reported in favor of bringing the water of the Bronx to the city; taking it from the River at the Westchester Cotton Factory pond. The natural flow of the River at this place, he stated to be 3,000,000 of gallons per day, in the driest season, and he proposed by artificial works at the upper Rye pond, and by lowering the outlet of this pond, to obtain 3,600,000 gallons more per day; thus furnishing a daily supply of 6,600,000 gallons. The cost of bringing the water to a reservoir near the Park, was estimated at $1,949,542. Mr. Wright concurred with him in this opinion.
In 1825 a company was incorporated by the Legislature, and called the “New-York Water Works Company,” with authority to supply the city with pure water. Canvas White, Esq., was appointed Engineer to this Company, and in his report to the Directors, he recommended taking the waters of the Bronx at Underhill’s bridge; estimated that 9,100,000 gallons of water could be delivered in the city daily, and that the expense would not exceed $1,450,000.
The charter of this company proved so defective in practice, that they were unable to proceed under it, and they accordingly applied to the Legislature in 1826 for an amendment, authorizing the company to take such of the waters, land and materials, by appraisement of indifferent persons, as might be required for the work. In this application, however, they were defeated, by the opposition of the Sharon Canal Company, who claimed, under their charter, all the water on the route of their canal. The Water Works Company was accordingly dissolved in 1827.
In 1831, the Common Council of the city, impelled by a sense of the importance of a supply of pure and wholesome water, began to take more decided steps towards the accomplishment of the object: a Committee of the Board of Aldermen on Fire and Water, consisting of James Palmer, Samuel Stevens and William Scott, to whom were referred various communications and resolutions on the subject of supplying the city with water, presented a report adducing facts and arguments sufficient to prove the practicability of the project and the ability of the Corporation to meet the expense; and prefaced that report as follows:—“That they approach the subject as one of vast magnitude and importance to an already numerous and dense population, requiring our municipal authorities no longer to satisfy themselves with speeches, reports and surveys, but actually to raise the means and strike the spade into the ground, as a commencement of this all important undertaking.”[2]
Their attention was drawn, at that time, to the Bronx River, with the ponds at its head, as the source for supply; but appended to their report is a letter directed to the Corporation and signed Cyrus Swan, “who is President of the New-York and Sharon Canal Company,” in which it is asserted, “it has been ascertained that that River (the Croton) can be carried into the city of New-York, and that without it, a supply which shall be adequate to the present and future wants of the city cannot be obtained.
This Committee drafted an Act for the Legislature to pass, which was approved by the Common Council, and presented to the Legislature in the session of 1832, but failed in becoming a law. That Act provided for the appointment of a Board of Commissioners of three persons, by the Common Council, to superintend the execution of the plan and make contracts for introducing water into the city of New-York.
In November, 1832, a report was made by Timothy Dewey and William Serrell to Benjamin Wright, Esq. They had examined the sources of the Bronx River and other streams, and the practicability of introducing the water of the Croton by connecting it with the Sawmill and Bronx Rivers;—they did not consider it possible to bring the Croton water to mingle with those of the aforesaid rivers without the aid of expensive machinery, from the great height it would be necessary to elevate the water. They finally recommended the Bronx as a sufficient source, with some artificial reservoirs, to answer all the city purposes.
The frightful ravages of the cholera, during the summer of 1832, gave to the subject of a supply of pure water a deeper interest, and the minds of the citizens were again aroused to the importance of it. The Committee of the Board of Aldermen, on “Fire and Water,” James Palmer, chairman, pursued the subject with energy; exhibiting on all occasions perseverance and industry in their researches.
Myndert Van Schaick, Esq., being a member of the Board of Aldermen at that time, was familiar with the question of a supply of pure and wholesome water, and holding the situation of Treasurer of the Board of Health, became deeply interested in the measure, and urged it as a matter of the deepest importance to the permanence, welfare and financial interests of the city, that every method should be taken to investigate and probe the subject which cautious men could adopt, and his efforts in the subsequent measures and provisions of law in relation to it are of the same character.
In December, 1832, De Witt Clinton, Esq., of the United States Corps of Engineers, made a report pursuant to a request of the Committee on Fire and Water, in which, after stating the substance of the several reports in favor of the Bronx as the source of supply, he arrives at the conclusion, that an adequate supply can only be obtained from the Croton River.
He proposed to take the waters of the Croton at Pine’s bridge, which he stated to be 183 feet above the level of the Hudson; to conduct the water in an open Aqueduct, following the line of the Croton and Hudson Rivers, and cross Harlem River on an arch of 138 feet in height, and 1,000 feet in length. The whole cost he estimated at $2,500,000.
It does not appear, however, that any levels were run, or survey made by Mr. Clinton, of the route he recommended; but, that he depended on the information of others, together with his personal observation, for the subject matter of his report.
In a report made to the Board of Aldermen in January, 1833, it was suggested that the failure of the law asked for the year previous, was in consequence of a want of sufficient information to warrant the opinion of the feasibility of the project, and it recommended that immediate application should be made to the Legislature, asking for the appointment of a Board of Commissioners, with full powers to examine all the plans proposed, to cause surveys, and to estimate the probable expense of supplying the city of New-York with water.
The Committee recommended that the Commissioners should be appointed by the Governor and Senate, and that their number should consist of five, “inasmuch as the object of their appointment is to settle conclusively the plan to be adopted, and the amount requisite for its performance.” This report was concurred in by the Board of Assistants, and approved of by the Mayor, January 17th, 1833.
In compliance with the request of the Common Council the Legislature of the State, on the 26th of February, 1833, passed an Act,[3] providing for the appointment by the Governor and Senate, of five persons, as Water Commissioners, whose duty it was by said Act declared to be “to examine and consider all matters relative to supplying the city of New-York with a sufficient quantity of pure and wholesome water for the use of its inhabitants, and the amount of money necessary to effect that object.”
In pursuance of this law, the Governor and Senate appointed the Board of Water Commissioners, consisting of the following named gentlemen:—Stephen Allen, William W. Fox, Saul Alley, Charles Dusenberry and Benjamin M. Brown. They were directed to make their report to the Legislature, by the second Monday of January, 1834, and to present a copy thereof to the Common Council of the City of New-York on or before the first day of November, 1833.
The Commissioners proceeded in the discharge of their duties, employed as Engineers Canvas White, Esquire, and Major D. B. Douglass, of the United States Corps of Engineers, and made all necessary examinations so as to determine, whether a sufficient quantity of pure and wholesome water could be obtained for present and future purposes, whether its introduction into the city would be practicable at an elevation precluding the use of machinery, and also what would be the probable cost of completing the projected work. Their report satisfied the Legislature that a supply of pure and wholesome water was of great importance to the city—that its introduction was feasible, and that the expense was within the financial ability of the citizens. Accordingly an Act[4] was passed by the Legislature, on the 2d of May, 1834, which provided for the appointment of five Water Commissioners by the Governor and Senate, and they were required “to examine and consider all matters relative to supplying the city of New-York with a sufficient quantity of pure and wholesome water; to adopt such plan as in their opinion will be most advantageous for securing such supply, and to report a full statement and description of the plan adopted by them; to ascertain, as near as may be, what amount of money may be necessary to carry the same into effect; to report an estimate of the probable amount of revenue that will accrue to the city, upon the completion of the work, and the reasons and calculations upon which their opinion and estimates may be founded; such report to be made and presented to the Common Council of the city on or before the first day of January, 1836.”
It was further provided, that “in case the plan adopted by the Commissioners shall be approved by the Common Council, they shall submit it to the electors to express their assent or refusal to allow the Common Council, to instruct the Commissioners to proceed in the work.”
The Commissioners who were appointed in 1833, were re-appointed under the Act of the 2d of May, 1834. They immediately entered upon the duties of their office, thoroughly re-examined their former work, and decided that the Croton River was the only source that would furnish an adequate supply of water for present and future purposes. In making these examinations they employed, as Engineers, David B. Douglass, John Martineau and George W. Cartwright, Esquires. Various plans were proposed for conveying the water to the city, and estimates made of the cost of the work constructed by either of these plans, but the one recommended by the Commissioners, and that for which a preference was expressed by the Engineers, Messrs. Martineau and Douglass, was a closed Aqueduct of masonry. These gentlemen each made an estimate of the cost of bringing the water of the Croton River to the city of New-York by a closed Aqueduct of masonry, and the Water Commissioners offered, as the true cost of the work, an average of the two estimates. The cost of the work, as estimated for this plan and presented by the Water Commissioners, (including the cost of the city mains and conduits,) was $5,412,336.72.
The report of the Water Commissioners was referred to a Committee, who reported to the Common Council, on the 4th of March, 1835, two resolutions, the first approving the plan adopted by the Commissioners as described in their report; and the second referring the subject to the electors at the ensuing annual election, as required by the Act of May 2d, 1834. These resolutions were adopted by the Common Council, and at the election in April, 1835, the subject having been duly submitted to the electors of the city and county of New-York, a majority of the voters were found to be in favor of the measure. On the 7th of May following, the Common Council “instructed the Commissioners to proceed with the work.”
Thus authorized, the Commissioners immediately commenced the preparatory measures for the construction of the work. David B. Douglass was employed as Chief Engineer; he proceeded in the location of the line for the Aqueduct and in preparing plans, until October, 1836, when he was succeeded by John B. Jervis, who continued at the head of that department during the construction of the Aqueduct.
The construction of the work was commenced in May 1837; and on the 22d June, 1842, the Aqueduct received the water from the Fountain Reservoir on the Croton:—on the 27th of June, the water having been permitted to traverse the entire length of the Aqueduct, entered the Receiving Reservoir at the city of New-York, and was admitted into the Distributing Reservoir on the 4th of July.
The Commissioners who were appointed in 1833, and re-appointed in 1834, continued in the performance of their duties until 1837—in March, of which year Thomas T. Woodruff was appointed in the place of Benjamin M. Brown, who resigned his office, and the Board of Commissioners thus constituted, continued until March, 1840, when they were succeeded by Samuel Stevens, John D. Ward, Zebedee Ring, Benjamin Birdsall and Samuel R. Childs. This Board of Commissioners remained in office until February, 1843, when they were succeeded by the gentlemen who composed the former Board.