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Swann Memorial Fountain
1924 by Alexander Stirling Calder
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Swann Memorial Fountain
Photo by G. Widman for GPTMC
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More Information
The large swan figures in the Swann Memorial Fountain — obviously a pun on Dr. Swann’s name — also allude to the classical myth of Leda and the swan.
The center of Logan Square belongs to a popular fountain sculpture by Alexander Stirling Calder, son of the City Hall artist.
Designed with architect Wilson Eyre, the work memorializes Dr. Wilson Cary Swann, founder of the Philadelphia Fountain Society.
Adapting the tradition of “river god” sculpture, Calder created large Native American figures to symbolize the area’s major local waterways: the Delaware River (a man), the Schuylkill River (a woman) and Wissahickon Creek (a girl).
Frogs, turtles, a fish and two swans — puns on the name of Dr. Wilson Cary Swann, the fountain’s namesake — complete the group.
Children love the playful frogs and turtles that spout water toward the 50-foot geyser in the center.
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