Bartholdi Fountain Bartholdi Fountain The Bartholdi Fountain is a monumental public fountain, designed by Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi, who later created the Statue of Liberty. The fountain was originally made for the 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and is now located at the corner of Independence Avenue and First Street, SW, in the United States Botanic Garden, on the grounds of the United States Capitol, in Washington D.C.. The Fountain of Light and Water, commonly called the Bartholdi fountain, was created for the 1876 Philadelphia Exposition which celebrated the 100th birthday of the United States. It was designed by French sculptor Frédéric
Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi cast-iron fountain in Washington, DC completed in 1878. In 1875, he joined the Freemasons Lodge Alsace-Lorraine in Paris. In 1876, Bartholdi was one of the French commissioners in 1876 to the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition. There he exhibited bronze statues of "The Young Vine-Grower", "Génie Funèbre", "Peace" and "Genius in the Grasp of Misery", receiving a bronze medal for the latter. His 1878 statue "Gribeauval" became the property of the French state. A prolific creator of statues, monuments, and portraits, Bartholdi exhibited at the Paris Salons until the year of his death in 1904. He also remained active with diverse mediums,