Tivoli Fountain over the years

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(Black-and-white photos courtesy of Washington Digital Archives)

One of the highlights of any tour of the Capitol Campus is seeing the Tivoli Fountain. The 50-foot-diameter fountain, located northeast of the Legislative Building, alongside Capitol Boulevard, was built in 1953. It’s a replica of the famous Roman-style fountain located in Tivoli Park in Copenhagen, Denmark. The Olympia fountain is in operation from around April 1 until Oct. 30, when it is turned off and winterized. The black-and-white photos, from the Digital Archives' Susan Parish Photograph Collection, 1889-1990, provide a history of the popular fountain over the past 60 years. The 1950 photo above shows the area on campus where the fountain would be built just a few years later.

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This photo shows Gov. Arthur Langlie speaking at the fountain’s dedication ceremony on April 15, 1953. CORRECTION: This photo actually shows Peter G. Schmidt speaking at the ceremony, although Gov. Langlie did speak there as well.

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The fountain in 1962.

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And finally, the fountain today.