Acquisition
Lobbying began in 1906 for the sculpture by the Knights of Columbus and the US Congress approved $100,000 for the sculpture on March 4, 1907, along with the city, who also donated funds for the creation of the work. In May 1907 a commission was formed for the memorial fountain headed by prominent members of the Senate and William Howard Taft, who was Secretary of War at the time and served as committee chairman. Upon agreeing on the location for the fountain, a call for designs was requested by artists from America, Italy and Spain. The reason for the three countries stemmed from the committee idea that "if it should be from the hand of an American, the land which Columbus gave to the world; from an Italian, the land which gave Columbus to the world, or from Spain, the land which made Columbus's achievement possible."
Twenty sculptors submitted proposals for the fountain including: Henri Cronier, Philip Martiny, Charles Keck, Augustus Lukeman, Alfred Sauder, Henry Hering, Charles J. Pike, Pierre Feitu, Leo Lentelli, John C. Hardy, John K. Daniels, Hans Schuler, Giuseppi Donato, J. Otto Schweizer, V.R. Hoxie, Augustin Querol, Louis Weingartner and Taft.
Architect Edward Wilmann of Burnham's architectural firm was put in charge of the construction of the piece.
Read more about this topic: Columbus Fountain
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