The City of Rochester Public Market Fountain

The City of Rochester Public Market Fountain. . , When the City of Rochester Public Market opened on its North Union Street site in 1905, it was one of only 125 prominent public places around the country to receive a limited edition, six-ton granite fountain. Designed primarily to serve horses-the primary transportation mode of that time these fountains also made fresh water available to people and dogs. They were gifted by the National Humane Alliance as a practical expression of its animal welfare mission., The Public Market's fountain was an important functional feature and an icon of the early Market. It can be seen in many early Market photographs. But by 1930, cars and trucks replaced horses as primary transportation- and the fountain was deemed an obsolete obstacle, and was hauled away in the early thirties. Its whereabouts are still unknown today., In 2017, by a remarkable stroke of luck, Market staff discovered one of the original fountains sitting on private property not far from Rochester. The City was able to acquire this fountain, renovate and re-plumb it, and install it at the Market in a custom-designed courtyard between the Market Office house and indoor "B” Shed. On Saturday, September 28, 2019, Mayor Warren and hundreds gathered to unveil the restored fountain. For more information go to www.cityofrochester.gov/marketfountain