A crowd formed to witness the reawakening of one of D.C.’s greats this month. The Andrew W. Mellon Memorial Fountain at the National Gallery of Art (NGA) was restored and unveiled by the National Gallery on Mar. 15.
“A gift of the people to the United States from Mellon’s friends and associates, the fountain was conceived as a tangible memorial to Mellon and his gift of the National Gallery of Art. This is an important site to the Gallery and we are delighted to accept the transfer of responsibility from the National Park Service,” said Earl A. Powell III, director of the NGA.
After being inoperable for eight years, the restored fountain adds a splash of personality and life back into its corner of the Federal Triangle, where 10 government and federal office buildings are located in a triangular area. The fountain, located at 6th Street & Constitution Avenue NW in the DowntownDC Business Improvement District (BID), is a welcome addition to the landscape and is a perfect place to sit, relax and enjoy the scenery or to have lunch.
The National Gallery of Art was created for the people of the United States by financier and art collector Andrew W. Mellon and given to President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Mellon believed that the National Gallery was an institution that belonged to the nation and insisted that the museum not be named after him. But, Mellon’s family, friends and colleagues later funded the creation of the Andrew W. Mellon Memorial Fountain in order to celebrate him and his gift of his art collection and funding for the museum to the United States.
In order to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the National Gallery, the museum will be hosting a variety of events and activities including concerts, films, educational programs, releasing a new published history of the gallery and hosting an on-site sketching program that is currently underway and continues through the end of June.
For more information, visit http://www.nga.gov/content/ngaweb/about/seventy-fifth-anniversary.html