Vandalism left the Swann Memorial Fountain partly broken, but a fix is in the works

For just over a century now, the Swann Memorial Fountain has sat on Logan Circle, its flowing fountains serving as a glittering jewel amid the Benjamin Franklin Parkway’s collection of renowned public art.

Over the years, that beloved art deco Philly fountain has been — and still is — many things: A loving remembrance of a temperance movement leader. A premier spot for engagement and wedding photos. Inspiration for one of Philly pop punk’s best anthems. A popular, if unauthorized, public swimming hole.

But lately, the Swann Fountain just hasn’t seemed like itself.

Earlier this month, its basin was drained, and its water features were turned off. And its center spike hasn’t spouted water for quite some time, depriving visitors and locals alike of a sight that has delighted Philly’s denizens for decades.

So what gives? That’s what one reader asked via Curious Philly, The Inquirer’s forum for questions on all things local. Here is what we know:

Eagle-eyed locals may have noticed that the fountain’s high-flying center jet hasn’t been running for a while. In fact, that feature has been out of commission since some time in 2023, following vandalism of a pump.

“They broke into the pump room beneath the fountain and ripped out electrical wiring, damaging the pump,” Philadelphia Parks and Recreation Commissioner Susan Slawson said. Slawson could not provide an exact time frame for the vandalism, but Leah Uko, deputy director of communications for the city, said there were several acts of vandalism to the fountain’s pumps, complicating the situation.

Though it reported the vandalism to police, the department is not aware of any arrests made in connection with the crime, Philly Parks and Recreation spokesperson Ra’Chelle Rogers said.

As a result of the vandalism, the largest of the pumps that power the central jet has been offline, leaving a smaller pump that supports its other, smaller water features operational. The fountain has additional chemical pumps that control the release of chlorine, parks department operations lead Frank Fabey said.

That two-year-old vandalism puts Swann Fountain on a list of pieces of city property impacted by similar incidents in recent years. Slawson said a number of city parks, ball fields, and trails have seen similar thefts of copper wires. In March, Philadelphia police announced that they were searching for a group of vandals who cut and removed a section of copper wire from the Portal art installation in LOVE Park. And in August, five people were arrested in an alleged scheme that involved stealing copper wire from city streetlights.

“It’s not just here, and not just at the fountain,” Slawson said. “They’re not getting much money, but it is costing us a lot. Then you have community members thinking we are being negligent when we are not.”

With the largest of Swann Fountain’s pumps out, that left a smaller pump to carry the fountain’s load. Which it did successfully for some time, powering some of the smaller water features fairly consistently until earlier this month.

That pump failed in early September, leading to a complete shutdown of the fountain and the draining of its basin, Rogers confirmed. Parks and recreation staffers had pieces of the fountain running on a temporary basis since 2023, Slawson said, but with the failure this month, we’re looking at a longer timeline for a complete repair.

This week, however, some of the fountain’s jets were running — but that doesn’t mean the issue is solved. Rogers said the waterworks were part of ongoing testing of the fountain’s drains and not indicative of a full-on fix.

“We don’t want to keep putting the fountain on piecemeal,” Slawson said. “We want to make sure the entire fountain is functioning properly.”

Philly Parks and Recreation plans to fully restore the fountain by the spring, Slawson said. Though the costs and plans for the repairs are not yet defined, she expects that the project will run into the hundreds of thousands of dollars, as the revamp involves “major” work to its systems.

“It is really important to us that this fountain is restored,” Slawson said. “And we are working feverishly to make sure when it comes back on for next season that it will be fully operational.”

Ordinarily, Swann Fountain is running by the end of April or the beginning of May, Slawson said. Its run typically lasts at least until mid- to late October, but can continue until Thanksgiving Day, depending on when the area experiences freezing temperatures.

With that timeline in mind, Slawson said, she expects Swann Fountain to be fully back online in mid-May 2026. Paul Steinke, executive director of the Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia, said he hopes the department can hold itself to that goal.

“The Preservation Alliance has been monitoring the situation closely and hopes that Parks and Rec will ensure that the fountain is fully operational in time for the 2026 season,” Steinke said.

While we may now be seeing the fountain putting out a comparative dribble, it hasn’t always been that way. Publicly unveiled in July 1924, the fountain was established as a memorial to Wilson Cary Swann, founder and former president of the Philadelphia Fountain Society.

The group worked to establish water features around the city as a way of providing fresh drinking water to human and animal residents alike — as a way both to show compassion to working animals, of which there were many in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and to lessen the consumption of alcohol. In 1880, at the height of its influence, the Philadelphia Fountain Society operated about 80 public water fountains, according to WHYY.

Swann Fountain itself was designed by architect Wilson Eyre Jr., who worked with famed sculptor Alexander Stirling Calder to construct it. Calder Gardens, which highlights Calder’s work in a museum on the Parkway — itself the home of three generations of work from the Calder family, including the statue of William Penn on top of City Hall — opened last Sunday.

Also known as the “Fountain of Three Rivers,” the Swann Memorial Fountain is a highly symbolic installation. It features three figures: a Native American girl who represents the Wissahickon Creek leaning against a swan, a mature woman who represents the Schuylkill holding a swan’s neck, and a Native American man who represents the Delaware River being leapt over by a fish. While the fish is considered a symbol of the food that comes from the Delaware, the swans are thought to be a visual pun playing off Swann’s name. In the center, a jet normally shoots water roughly 50 feet into the air.

Surrounding the center of the fountain, bronze frogs and turtles in the outside basin shoot water toward its main figures, and smaller geysers provide life and movement.

In the years since it was unveiled, the Swann Memorial Fountain has become a destination for Philadelphians and tourists alike — especially on hot days, even though swimming is discouraged. Still, as one British visitor told The Inquirer in 2019, that practice remains something of a “local norm.”

“It’s magical, you know,” said Hannah Oliver-Willets of Broseley, England. “All you want to do is put your feet in the water.”