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Buckingham Fountain, Grant Park, Chicago, 1944

Subjects
Monuments & MemorialsPublic Parks & Commons
Card type
Linen
Date
c. 1944 (Linen)
Front of Buckingham Fountain, Grant Park, Chicago, 1944, c. 1944 linen postcard
Front
Back of Buckingham Fountain, Grant Park, Chicago, 1944, c. 1944 linen postcard
Back

About this postcard

A tall central jet rises from Buckingham Fountain in Grant Park, with side sprays arcing into the wide basin. A low fence and a few small figures stand at the pool's edge, with lawn and open parkland beyond. Kate Buckingham gave the fountain to the city in memory of her brother Clarence, and it was dedicated in 1927 at the head of Congress Street, then Chicago's formal gateway between the downtown and the lakefront. The caption points out its debt to the Latona Fountain at Versailles, and the fountain's rococo sculpture and formal axis made it a common subject for view cards of the period.

Postcard Details

Message · Slovak, in pen

[Bucki]ngham ave. Det[roit] v Chicago, Ill. jednej časti mesta kde priateľov mojich známych Rose Koman + Filly Kutina

Translation

[Bucki]ngham Ave. Det[roit] in Chicago, Ill. in one part of the city where friends of my acquaintances Rose Koman + Filly Kutina

PublisherCHAS. LEVY CIRCULATING COMPANY
Buckingham Fountain, Grant Park, Chicago 25 --- Presented to the city by Miss Kate Buckingham in memory of her brother, Clarence Buckingham. It stands in line with the Congress Street Plaza and is patterned somewhat after the famous Fountain of Versailles. POST CARD TICHNOR QUALITY VIEWS REG. U.S. PAT. OFF. MADE ONLY BY TICHNOR BROS., INC., BOSTON, MASS. PUBLISHED BY CHAS. LEVY CIRCULATING COMPANY, CHICAGO, ILLINOIS
PostmarkedOctober 19, 1944, 13:30
Stamp
Addressed to
Mr. Frances Posta

16716 Rutherford Ave. Detroit, MI

Postcard record

Postmarked
PublisherCHAS. LEVY CIRCULATING COMPANY
Series25 74222
ConditionVery good
Place addressedMr. Frances Posta, 16716 Rutherford Ave., Detroit, MI
Place depictedBuckingham Fountain, Chicago, IL
Place mentionedGrant Park, Chicago, IL
Place mentionedVersailles, France
PublisherCHAS. LEVY CIRCULATING COMPANY, Boston, MA
Stamp1c Statue of Liberty, green, perforated on all sides
Stamp1c Franklin D. Roosevelt / Four Freedoms, perforated on all sides
NotesLinen texture; light blue border. Postmark: OCT 19 1 30 PM 1944 (city name illegible). Linen-era divided-back card; white border; Tichnor Quality Views imprint.

Cite this card

Buckingham Fountain, Grant Park, Chicago, 1944, postcard, c. 1944. PostalPast Collection. https://postalpast.com/postcard/buckingham-fountain-grant-park-chicago-1944. Accessed November 2, 2026.