Jacob Fisher Rainbow Fountain

Fisher Rainbow Fountain at darkThe Jacob Fisher Rainbow Fountain, is a local and regional landmark which draws numerous crowds to its location throughout the summer months. Originally meant to be a temporary exhibit at the 1932 Adams County Fair, it was relocated to Highland Park, the municipal park located in front of Hastings Utilities' main offices, in 1933. It was a "sign of hope" for local and area citizens during the Depression and dust bowl days of the 1930's.

Fisher Rainbow Fountain, the largest of its kind between Denver and Chicago, remains a source of great community pride today. It's name was derived from two winning essays written by young school children in an effort to name the structure. Jacob Fisher was the mayor of Hastings when the park was first developed. The "Rainbow Fountain" describes the many changing colors of lights that accompany the varying arrays of water sprays that reach heights of 67 feet.

The fountain was computerized in 1983, allowing the number of possible color-waterform configurations to be increased from the original 32 to over 2 million. There are five controllable waterforms, yielding 31 possible stable waterform configurations and additional interphases. These waterforms are the high vertical jet, the somewhat lower eight vertical jets, the three spray nozzles, and the outer eight jets. This gives great versatility in setting and altering the shape of the water.

The colors come from four red lights, four green lights, four blue lights, three amber lights, and white base lights (14,000 watts all together). The lights are relatively close to each other and to the water nozzles, thus allowing a partial blending of colors. For example, when all four colors are on, the overall effect is pink, with localized areas of peach, modified green, lavender, and other shades, gradually blending from one to another.

The fountain has become a permanent part of the lives of Hastings citizens, offering serenity, beauty, and a location for many memorable evenings of ice-cream socials, band concerts, and other special events.