10- THE FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH AND THE GALLERY

10
THE FUTURE- THE FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH, AND THE GALLERY

The Gateway Arch can be seen as a gateway from the past to the future. The last exhibit would be the only one to focus on the future and would have a different feel and focus from all of the others. To honor the future I propose the Fountain of Youth, a large, open children's play fountain much the same as can be found in water parks and city parks around the globe. It should have lots of squirting, bubbling and bursting water, soft and safe ground on which to walk, run, jump and dance, and places for mom and dad to sit and rest while the kids are getting properly soaked to end a perfect day.

As a parent, I have always been amazed at the attraction that water has for children, from the water sprinkler in the front yard to the giant dousing bucket at the water park. Cities like Chicago, Kansas City and Atlanta have large play fountains such as this, and I only think it fitting that St Louis honor the future by providing the newest and the best.

The second half of this attraction would be the Gallery, a ring of small but amazing fountains that would surround the Fountain of Youth. These fountains should be under 10 feet, and open to design by the best and brightest architects of fountain technology today.

To inspire the future we would invite designs for the most innovative fountains, all with the challenge of transporting water from one spot to another in the most interesting, unusual and amazing way possible.

The Gallery could include solar fountains, ice fountains, chocolate fountains, flaming fountains, laser fountains, and anything else that could inspire the average tourist to think of new possibilities for their own future after visiting this site.

The Gallery would be a dynamic exhibit, changing from one year to another and serving as a hall of fame, if you will of fountain design. That is the goal, anyway.