Neighborhood News: Streeterville’s Centennial Fountain celebrates MWRD innovation
“The Nicholas J. Melas Centennial Fountain and Water Arc is Chicago’s answer to Old Faithful in Yellowstone National Park”
TripAdvisor reviewer, 2025
If you’re lucky enough to be walking across Chicago’s picturesque north bank of the Chicago River at McClurg Court between 10am and 11pm, chances are you’ll encounter a perfect, 80-foot arc of water spraying across the Chicago River every hour, cooling off boaters and pedestrians from May 1-September 30.
You’ll be luckier still if the water arc reflects a rainbow when the sun catches it at the right angles.
The water arc comes courtesy of one of Chicago’s ‘secret’ landmarks…the Nicholas J. Melas Centennial Fountain operates the cannon, shooting for 5 minutes at the top of every hour during summer months.
River traffic is alerted to the cannon activity by two warning indicator lights.
But… the water cannon is only part of this unique water feature. Behind it is the fountain, a cascading wall of water that flows and ebbs continuously as it ripples in the wind.
Designed by Chicago architect Dirk Lohan and Associates, (Ludwig Mies van der Rohe’s grandson,) according to the Chicago Architecture Foundation, the fountain is composed of a series of granite steps that descend to the river’s edge, reflecting the river’s natural flow and offering a tranquil setting amid the bustling city. At the top of these steps, a semi-circular basin collects water that is then pumped at high pressure through nozzles to create the dramatic 80-foot arc.
Lohan’s vision, according to Metropolitan Water Reclamation District (MWRD) website, followed the symmetry of the continent’s water flow, trickling from individual watersheds and streams, leading to larger bodies of water and eventually flowing and combining in the ocean.
History of the Fountain and MWRD
The fountain is named after the former MWRD President Nicholas J. Melas, who served for nearly two decades. Dedicated in 1989, the fountain celebrated the 100th anniversary of the MWRD’s establishment. They are best known for their major achievement in reversing the flow of the Chicago River in 1900.
The American Society of Civil Engineers in 1999 named the MWRD work in reversing the flow of the Chicago River in 1900 as a “Civil Engineering Monument of the Millennium.” The MWRD also constructed local waterways, including the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal, the Cal-Sag Channel and North Shore Channel, around the turn of the 20th century to reverse the flow of the river, with the main intent of providing drainage for the Chicago region and conveying used water. Thanks to years of investment, testing and innovation, the quality of Chicago’s water has drastically improved to accommodate a range of activities along the river not imagined decades ago.
The MWRD has made numerous water quality improvements, which have proven essential factors for nurturing aquatic (and human) life, according to their website. The MWRD’s Tunnel and Reservoir Plan (TARP) has helped reduce water pollution and promoted healthier homes for freshwater fish living in the CAWS. In addition to TARP and other measures to improve water quality, the MWRD has also introduced sidestream elevated pool aeration (SEPA) stations and other instream aeration stations to help inject needed oxygen into the waterways and implemented chlorination and dechlorination technologies to disinfect water at the MWRD’s Calumet Water Reclamation Plant (WRP), and UV disinfection at the O’Brien WRP in Skokie.
Going Dry in 2020
However, the fountain, “representing all those majestic bodies of water and feats of engineering” went bone dry after a flood drowned the fountain’s mechanics and water cannon. It remained broken for nearly four years due to supply chain issues caused by the pandemic and other factors, according to a 2023 CBS News report. A public outcry ensued, reconstruction commenced, and the city marked the completion of the reconstructed Nicholas J. Melas Centennial Fountain on August 16, 2024. It began the 2025 season on May 15, and will continue through September 30.
Alison Moran-Powers and Dean’s Team Chicago
