Fountain Square
5th northeast corner Vine Streets;
William Tinsley/RTKL; 1871/1971

Fountain Square has been the symbolic center of Cincinnati since it was first completed in 1871, at approximately its present site. This admirable public amenity, which replaced a butchers’ market, was a gift to the people of Cincinnati from Henry Probasco (1820-1902) in memory of his brother-in-law, for whom the Tyler Davidson Fountain is named.

Probasco had come to Cincinnati as a young man, gained success in Davidson’s dry-goods store, and married his boss’s half-sister. After Davidson’s death Probasco retired and concentrated on his impressive library and art collection. These he housed in a unique, highly-crafted Norman Revival stone mansion, "Oakwood" (1859-66; 430 W. Cliff Lane, Clifton; private). After consulting Isaiah Rogers and other Cincinnati architects, as well as Alexander Jackson Davis of New York, Probasco chose Anglo-Irish architect William Tinsley (1804-1885), who worked in Cincinnati and Indianapolis from 1852 until his death. Probasco commissioned Tinsley to design his residence, Calvary Episcopal Church nearby (1869-71; 3766 Clifton Avenue, Clifton), and the original design for Fountain Square. As conceived by Tinsley, the Square was a long, round-ended Esplanade ringed by lampstands made by Herter Brothers of New York, who decorated "Oakwood’s" interiors twice.

After offering to provide Cincinnati with this memorial centerpiece, Probasco travelled to Munich; at the Royal Bavarian Foundry, he commissioned a bronze allegorical fountain from Ferdinand von Mueller, based on a design by Alexander von Kreling. Crowned by "The Genius of Water," its vivid imagery represents the uses of water, both natural and man-made, with narrative reliefs and charming individual figures. The graceful fountain is complemented by a delightful flower-stand by James W. McLaughlin (see 6).

In 1971 the Square was redesigned by the firm of RTKL, Baltimore, Md. The Fountain was slightly moved and re-oriented to the west, and the scale of the plaza was enlarged to reflect that of new buildings around it. Fountain Square is intensively used for lunch-break gatherings and is the site of daily and nightly civic activities, enhanced by a recent performance shell (BHDP, 1985; see 15). With the surrounding hotels, office buildings, and high-class stores, including the Carew Tower-Netherland Plaza Hotel complex to the southwest (see 8), the Square remains the heart of Cincinnati and its still-vibrant Downtown.