Occasionally a sightseeing motorist, cruising down beautiful Sheridan Road through Highland Park may notice an odd, ornate concrete edifice placed just off the street. Is it a decorative planter? A monument? An elaborate streetlight base? Before the driver can reach any conclusion he's already passed it, and probably never gives it another thought. But traveling some dozen miles further south to Evanston, he may experience a sudden feeling of Deja Vu when he passes its exact twin guarding the opposite end of Sheridan Road.
These are the "Yerkes Fountains", constructed over a century ago in honor of prominent Chicagoland transportation tycoon Charles Yerkes, who made his fortune through shady financial speculations in several of Chicago's Interurban and Street railways. Although remembered today mostly for his bankrolling of the University of Chicago's Yerkes Observatory (near Lake Geneva, Wisconsin) that wasn't his only philanthropic endeavor; he also contributed monies towards a magnificent "electric fountain" (which has since disappeared) in Lincoln Park, and also apparently to these two unusual structures gracing the elite roadway which traverses Chicagoland's most prestigious North Shore communities.
Most of the history of the Yerkes Fountains is lost in obscurity, but we do know that both were constructed in 1896, and were designed not as decorative display fountains, but as actual drinking fountains. As such, they were essentially glorified watering troughs, satisfying the practical needs of travelers along Sheridan Road by providing a place for their horses to drink. The fountains were decorated in elaborate 1890's style, and in addition to the wide troughs for watering horses, included separate basins and spigots for people (and even for dogs and cats) to drink from. One can imagine the dusty travelers, schoolchildren, and idlers of a bygone age gathered in the shade on a summer's afternoon, exchanging gossip whilst refreshing themselves with the cool waters of the fountain.
How long after 1896 the fountains provided sustenance to both man and beast is not remembered; doubtless the coming of the automobile diminished their necessity and use greatly. By the latter half of the twentieth century, they had not only ceased to function, but had fallen into unsightly ruin, and if Community Garden Clubs hadn't come to their rescue and converted them into decorative planters, they would certainly have been torn down by now.
The geocache hidden at the south fountain in Evanston (N 42° 02.907' W 087° 40.478') has been archived (https://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GCJ9Y9), but this cache at the northern fountain is still being maintained. Parking is on the side streets off of Sheridan Road. There’s no need to play gardener here; no digging is required to find the cache. Leashed dogs and well-behaved children are welcome, but keep an eye open for the traffic zooming past. The beasts of our modern age thirst not for water, and their drivers no longer have time for idle gossip at the forgotten fountains.