Eli Bates Fountain

Also known as Storks at Play, this 1887 centerpiece stands just south of the Lincoln Park Conservatory. The work was a collaboration between sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens and his assistant Frederick William MacMonnies, framed by a circular granite basin designed by McKim, Mead, & White. Bequeathed by Chicago businessman Eli Bates, its design sets water spouting from bronze beaks while boy-fish figures grapple with splashing fish. Saint-Gaudens and architect Stanford White installed the bronzes in person in 1887; after disappearing for decades, the central bronze reeds were recreated through conservation.