More useful drinking fountains, this time from the streets of Paris where all the drinking fountains are painted green to blend into the background.
This is the small model of the Wallace fountains. These are simple push button fountains that one can find in squares and public gardens and are marked with the Parisian Seal (although the one installed on the Place des Invalides doesn’t have this seal). They are very familiar to mothers who bring their children to play in the many small parks in Paris.
The more elaborate design is the larger model which was created by Charles-Auguste Lebourg who improved Wallace’s sketches, already studied and thought-provoking, to make the fountains true works of art.
For the large model, Lebourg created four caryatids representing kindness, simplicity, charity and sobriety. Each one is different from her sisters, by the way she bends her knees and by where her tunic is tucked into her blouse.
The one above can be found at the Flower Market ( Marché aux Fleurs). Situated on the Île de la Cité in the middle of the Seine the flower market is open every day of the week and is always a pleasant peaceful haven.
Richard Wallace designed the fountains himself and intended them to be beautiful as well as useful.
if you’d like to join in with the fountain challenge then please pop over to Polianthus for the rules. I’m sure she would love to see you.
Earth laughs in flowers 
Hello my dear Jude – what an intriguing story, history and fountains all rolled into one, thanks for contributing these and sharing their story, and it seems I missed another one, how remiss of me. Thanks for sharing your fountains with me Poli!
I was waiting to publish this to link with yours today, but you don’t seem to have published yours yet – I’ll change the link when you do 😀
I am running behind – I guess you are in my time zone :)!!! thanks!
Tada – I have posted today’s fountain – now back to work!!!!! Have a great weekend!
Yet one more reason to love Paris!!
Pingback: Fountain Series # 9 – April: urban fountains – marble fountain in Zürich | polianthus
So elegant and very French. I love that shade of green too. 🙂
We have only been through Paris and never spent any real time there. I love how something I might have seen like this would have no significance to me. Thank you for the background.
It sounds like you know Paris really well Jude?
Oh, how I wish I did Gilly! No, I have only been three times in my life sad to say, but I do love exploring its streets. So much to see.
I’ve only been once but I do have a rubbish shot of that particular fountain. 🙂 I thought it was beautiful but there were people weaving about and I got all wonky. Well, that’s my excuse, anyway. 🙂 Thanks for the wonderful history lesson.
Thank Wikipedia, as usual 😀
Do you manage to remember any of the facts afterwards? I wish I did. 😦
Only if I read my own posts! Well, actually I did remember they were Wallace fountains, but not who designed them.
Yes it’s a fabulous city, but I didn’t think you liked big cities?
I don’t like driving in big cities (or even towns these days), but I love exploring them on foot or public transport. Paris just has so much to look at. I think it is my favourite city, though I liked Lisbon too which is smaller to walk around. 2-3 days is enough though!
The first one reminds me of a post box.
I haven’t heard of Wallace fountains before, so thank you for introducing me to them. I like the one with the ladies on it – they are very elegant, and French!
And very practical too as they provide clean drinking water throughout the summer without having to pay for bottled water.
I wish we had this sort of thing in the towns and cities here. We used to have a big fancy drinking fountain thing in the town where I grew up but I’ve noticed that it isn’t working now, which is a shame.
Such a gorgeous green and so elegantly Parisian