Salt Lake City, UT

Salt Lake City's fountain was put in place in 1907 at the west entrance (State Street) to the City and County building grounds. A formal dedication was held on Thanksgiving Day and about 500 people showed up, many of them school children. Council President A. J. Davis presided over the ceremonies and the main speaker was E. B. Critchlows who devoted his remarks to lauding the efforts of Hermon Lee Ensign on behalf of the humane treatment of animals that man had subjugated for his own use and benefit. The fountain, he said would be devoted to the the Ensign and the National Humane Alliance and their mission of beauty and benevolence.

Mayor Bransford then accepted to fountain on behalf of the city and Dr. T. F. Beatty, secretary of the state board of health also made remarks.

Brittany Luna has recently discovered that the fountain was moved a block north in 1912, and by 1938 it was the only animal drinking fountain in the city. By 1942, the Salt Lake Telegram was reporting that theft and damage from automobiles had left it in bad shape with the water fittings stolen and the base out of alignment with the rest of the fountain from the automobile damage.

In 1955, the city donated the fountain to the Sons of Utah Pioneers Memorial Museum, but in one last bit of nostalgia that you see pictured above led a horse to the fountain for one last drink sparking what is probably the only uninstallation ceremony in NHA fountain history!

We've had known for some time now that the fountain still exists and is part of the collection of the Pioneer Village located in Lagoon Amusement Park in Farmington, Utah, though we didn't know how or when it got there. What we do know is that the lions heads are missing:

Brittany contact with Adam Leishman from Lagoon Park resulted in the picture above and an interest in possibly replacing the missing lions heads. We've provided some information that might help and let's hope that the photo will eventually be updated with new lions heads and maybe even some flowing water!

For more on the National Humane Alliance Fountains click here.