19 Most Creative Water Fountains From Around the World

Contemporary Water Fountains Reinventing the Timeless Design

Grifo Mágico (Magic Tap) in El Puerto de Santa María (Cádiz, Andalucía)
Photo credit: Emilio J. Rodríguez-Posada

Water fountains have a long place in our history. Dating back to the Ancient Roman times, these reservoirs were first designed with a purely practical purpose—for holding precious drinking water and bathing. These early fountains were uncovered, free standing, and placed along the street for public consumption. (Wealthier folks also had them in their homes.) Of course, like many things the Romans did, they added some ornamental elements to their creations and started a tradition that carries on today.

Now, fountains have a decorative place in our culture. Artists and architects approach them first and foremost as sculptures with elements of water in them. This liquid addition creates playful public art that delights and even surprises us. One popular concept is everyday things blown up as larger than life. The Magic Tap Fountain in Cádiz, Andalucía appears as a faucet that’s floating in midair. From it, water pours into the “sink” below. Its jumbo size makes it seem as if a giant forgot to turn off the tap.

Other fountains designs are completed with water. The ghostly Water Boat Fountain in Valencia, Spain, comprises just a few bent-metal pieces that reveal a deserted ship once the liquid flows.

See how artists, architects, and sculptors have redefined the art of water fountains, below.

Contemporary Water Fountains Reinventing the Timeless Design

Metalmorphosis by David Cherny at the Whitehall Technology Park in Charlotte, North Carolina
Photo credit: RFL Photography

Contemporary Water Fountains Reinventing the Timeless Design

Fountain by Malgorzata Chodakowska
Read more: Poetic Fountain Sculptures Designed for Water to Creatively Cascade

Contemporary Water Fountains Reinventing the Timeless Design

Water Boat Fountain in Playa de la Malvarrosa in Valencia, Spain
Photo source: Nors
Read more: Spectacular Fountain Sprays Water to Look Like a Boat

Contemporary Water Fountains Reinventing the Timeless Design

Magic Water Circuit in Parque de la Reserva in Lima, Peru
Photo credit: drinkwildair

Contemporary Water Fountains Reinventing the Timeless Design

Julie Penrose Fountain in Colorado Springs, Colorado
Photo credit: Chris Coleman

Contemporary Water Fountains Reinventing the Timeless Design

Nine Floating Fountains by Isamu Noguchi in Osaka, Japan
Photo source: Arch2O

Contemporary Water Fountains Reinventing the Timeless Design

Vaillancourt Fountain by Armand Vaillancourt in San Francisco, California
Photo credit: Mark Interrante

Contemporary Water Fountains Reinventing the Timeless Design

The Fountain of Wealth in Suntec City, Singapore
Photo source: SGliulian.com

Contemporary Water Fountains Reinventing the Timeless Design

The Pineapple Fountain in Charleston, South Carolina
Photo credit: Michael Criswell

Contemporary Water Fountains Reinventing the Timeless Design

El Alamein Fountain by Phill Taranto in Sydney, Australia
Photo credit: Sardaka / Wikimedia

Contemporary Water Fountains Reinventing the Timeless Design

Swarovski Fountain in Austria
Photo source: jjlew080

Contemporary Water Fountains Reinventing the Timeless Design

71 Fountain in Ohio
Photo credit: Kyle Wood

Contemporary Water Fountains Reinventing the Timeless Design

Tlaloc Fountain in Chapultepec Park in Mexico City, Mexico
Photo credit: David Hiser

Contemporary Water Fountains Reinventing the Timeless Design

Crown Fountain in Millennium Park, Chicago, Illinois
Photo credit: Serge Melki

Contemporary Water Fountains Reinventing the Timeless Design

Charybdis by William Pye
Read more: Incredible Vortex Water Sculpture

Contemporary Water Fountains Reinventing the Timeless Design

Fountain by Rubenstein Studios at the University of Connecticut
Photo credit: Rubenstein Studios

Water Printing Fountain at Osaka Station in Japan
Video source: mkiskapos

Sometimes, the most mesmerizing part of the fountain is the water:

GIF source: emersonic420

Sara Barnes

Sara Barnes is a Staff Editor at My Modern Met, Manager of My Modern Met Store, and co-host of the My Modern Met Top Artist Podcast. As an illustrator and writer living in Seattle, she chronicles illustration, embroidery, and beyond through her blog Brown Paper Bag and Instagram @brwnpaperbag. She wrote a book about embroidery artist Sarah K. Benning titled 'Embroidered Life' that was published by Chronicle Books in 2019. Sara is a graduate of the Maryland Institute College of Art. She earned her BFA in Illustration in 2008 and MFA in Illustration Practice in 2013.
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