9- 20XX (THE PRESENT) THE FOUNTAIN BARGE

9
20XX- (THE PRESENT) THE FOUNTAIN BARGES

To celebrate the present, whatever year that happens to be, I propose the most ambitious and exciting of all the fountains, the fountain barge. Barges have long been used for fireworks displays, but it took the folks at Disney to add the element of water to make a complete night time spectacular as is seen at Epcot Center in the Illuminations show every night. The combination of fire and water is a crowd pleaser, and it is the highlight of the Epcot day, so much so that the idea has spread to other theme parks as well.

For St Louis I would propose at least two fountain barges that would perform nightly when weather conditions allowed, and during the day as well on high tourist days. The barge would use water from the river to shoot dramatic sprays of water up in the air, lit and colored at night to make the river itself come to life. For special occasions fireworks could also be added to make the experience complete.

There also are specialized fountain barges that can put out a fine spray large enough that images can be projected on them, including videos, still, and even full length movies.

There are many possibilities for this attraction. The river itself becomes the attraction, as it should. The number and type of fountain barges could change from year to year, as could the music, theme and type of show. This could also be one of the more expensive of the attractions and would require sponsorship of some kind, but making it a showpiece could attract people into the downtown area for hours and hours.