William T. Fitzsimons Memorial Fountain
Owner: KCMO Parks & Recreation Department
Dates: Installed 1922
Artist/Designer: John Van Brunt
Description:
This fountain was constructed to honor the memory of William T. Fitzsimons, a 1st Lieutenant in the United States Medical Corps. Lt. Fitzsimons was the first American officer to give his life in World War I.
This is a bas-relief memorial fountain which is embedded in a curved, Dakota limestone wall 19 feet high and 80 feet long. Steps on both sides of the wall lead up to a grass deck.
Carved pilasters with Corinthian capitals frame a memorial plaque at the base of which is a bronze lion’s head and a carved limestone basin. Egg and dart detail over dentils surround a semi-circular pediment and cap a garland carved entablature. There is a bronze eagle in the center of the pediment. Beneath the entablature is a bronze caduceus approximately 2 feet high and 2 feet wide. Water comes out of the lion's head and into the limestone basin.
