Kansas City Life Fountain
Owner: Kansas City Life Insurance Company
Dates: 1996
Artist: Josef Kusser
Description:
In 1996, in celebration of their first 100 years of business, the Kansas City Life Insurance Company created a small commemorative plaza in front of their headquarters on Broadway. The centerpiece of the plaza is a kugel ball fountain. The kugel is a ball made of solid red granite mined from India. The ball weighs at around 2,100 pounds. Water comes up from within the marble base underneath the kugel creating a "cushion" of water on which the ball floats. The ball is in perpetual motion as it spins atop its watery cushion. One can go up to the ball and, with only one hand, change the direction of the spin.
