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Fisher Fountain turned on for summer season
Jacob Fisher Rainbow Fountain is now in operation for the summer season.
The fountain was initially turned on Monday, May 8 for testing. The traditional season for operation begins Mother’s Day weekend and concludes when temperatures get colder, usually in early October.
The iconic lighted fountain stands near Hastings Utilities headquarters at 12th Street and Denver Avenue.
Work to prepare the fountain for operation this year included the following:
- Washing the fountain down to eliminate the dirt from the winter.
- Closing the drains getting water services turned back on, including getting water lines flushed of leaves.
- Filling the fountain and testing the pumps. One pump had enough calcium buildup to affect a bearing. That bearing was taken apart and fixed.
- Two of the 24 Volt DC canopy lights were fixed. The issue included a small gauge wire from the factory at the end of the LED strip lights. One of the five wires to each light was broken. A better way to protect the wires in the future was also established. The fountain will be shut down for a day in a few weeks, at a time to be determined, so all of those lights can be protected, so that problem doesn’t occur again.
- The Pollution Control Facility EIC team is now going to help with the fountain. Those individuals are trained in how to program the pumps, lights, and shows.
- All of the programming, shows, and lights were reviewed to make sure they were current and working properly.
The Jacob Fisher Rainbow Fountain, is a local and regional landmark that 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 60 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. The fountain foundation was repaired in 2020 and the foundation was updated with new variable frequency drive (VFD) pumps, new control system, new lights and many other updates.
There are five controllable waterforms. The addition of the VFD system allows an almost infinite amount of possible waterform configurations. These waterforms are the high vertical jet, the somewhat lower eight vertical jets, the three spray nozzles, a coronet spray ring and eight perimeter jets. This gives great versatility in setting and altering the shape of the water.
Previous to 2020, the colors came from four red lights, four green lights, four blue lights, three amber lights, and 64 white base lights (18,200 watts all together). The 2020 update replaced all of the old lights and instead incorporated 23 LED lights with a 950-watt power requirement and unlimited color selection, allowing for more options for lighting shows and individual color control on each light. The lights are relatively close to each other and to the water nozzles, thus allowing a partial blending of colors.
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.
Published Date: 05/11/2023