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7. Sydney Smith Memorial Fountain
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Located
between the Vietnam
memorial and Music
Hall, the Sydney Smith Memorial Fountain was originally stationed
at the Frank P. Holland Court in 1916. The fountain moved to the
front of Music
Hall when the building opened, then traveled to its current
spot during the 1970s. More commonly known as The Gulf Cloud,
the fountain pays tribute to Captain Sydney Smith.
Sydney originally came from Alabama before joining the Mississippi
Confederate Army. At the age of twenty-four, he moved to Dallas
and stayed there. He became Secretary of the State Fair Association
in 1887 when Holland resigned from his post after only one year.
Sydney gave up the position in 1888 but returned in 1897. He remained
the secretary until 1912 when he passed away.
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Sydney Smith
Memorial Fountain
Postcard courtesy www.rootsweb.com/ %7Etxpstcrd/ |
Sydney
Smith Memorial Fountain
Photo courtesy Drriss & Marrionn* |
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Partly
funded through marketing special Sydney Smith badges, the fountain
was made to honor the captain and his contributions. It stands twelve
feet high, weighs five tons, and has a diameter of thirty-five feet.
The bronze centerpiece depicts a mother and three daughters, each
figure symbolizing a different feature of Texas. The mother represents
the plains, the girl on the right stands for the mountains, and
the one on the left lying down refers to the Gulf. The winged figure
symbolizes the gulf cloud, which will eventually provide rain for
the land.
The centerpiece was the work of sculptor Clyde Chandler,
a native of Indiana who moved with her family to Dallas
in 1886. Ten years later, she attended the Massachusetts Normal
Art School in Boston. When she left school, Clyde returned to Dallas
began teaching freehand drawing at St. Mary's College. The Dallas
Art Association gave her a scholarship in 1903, which she used to
study at the Art Institute in Chicago, Illinois under the guidance
of artist Lorado Taft. After traveling with him to Italy, she began
work as a sculptor. Clyde once again returned to Dallas,
but she also had a residence in Chicago. After completing The Gulf
Cloud, the sculptor permanently moved to her northern home.
*Author's
Note:
All the pictures that are not mine are either public domain or creative
commons. I provided the photographer's name.
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References:
1.Bigtex.com
2.Dallashistory.org
3.Dallas Morning News Archives
4.Fairpark.org
5.Slate, John H. Historic Dallas Parks. Arcadia Publishing, 2010.
6.Tshaonline.org
7.Watermelon-kid.com
8.Wikipedia.org
8.Winters, Willis Cecil. Fair Park. Arcadia Publishing, 2010. |
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| Texas
Escapes, in its purpose to preserve historic, endangered and vanishing
Texas, asks that anyone wishing to share their local history, stories,
landmarks and vintage or recent photos, please contact
us. |
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