The cache is NOT on the fountain or in the vegetation around the fountain so please be careful not to disturb the plants and shrubs around the fountain.
ERSKINE FOUNTAIN
A gift to the city of Atlanta in 1883, Grant Park now welcomes over two million visitors each year. Lemuel P. Grant saw the need for a great city park (1882) and stipulated in his donation of 100 acres that "the land should be used for park purposes for all Atlantans."
Today, Grant Park is the oldest surviving city park in Atlanta. It now encompasses 131.5 acres. Although many come to the park to view the painting at the Atlanta Cyclorama or enjoy the exotic animals at the zoo, the park offers a wide range of amenities including picnic facilities, historical structures, athletic fields, children's play areas, botanical diversity, natural areas, quiet walks and more. Hidden near the southwestern edge of Grant Park, the Erskine Fountain is a historical and artistic treasure that has, unfortunately, suffered years of neglect and is now in critical need of revitalization.
Judge Erskine served as the judge of the Federal District Court of Georgia during the crucial and devastating Reconstruction period following the Civil War. He is remembered today as a defender of individual property rights and a moderating voice at a time of still-deadly acrimony between North and South. But none of his judicial legacy is reflected on the monument dedicated to him. Curiously, the designer and sculptor of the fountain — J. Massey Rhind — chose to feature two motifs — astrology and the sea. All twelve signs of the zodiac are carved into the semi-circular stone bench that curves along the back side of the bronze fountain. And those elements are combined with whales and fish — some carved into the stone and others cast from bronze. The connection between the zodiac and Judge Erskine isn’t clear, but his relationship to water is. Before he became a schoolteacher, lawyer and judge in America, John Erskine was a British sailor who traveled around the globe in the 1820s and 30s. Biographies of Erskine suggest his exposure to other cultures and other peoples around the world taught him to be tolerant and understanding — and that is apparently the spirit that governs his tenure as a judge. Erskine died in January of 1895 and is buried in Atlanta’s Oakland Cemetery.
The judge’s sole survivor, his daughter, commissioned J. Massey Rhynd to design and build the fountain, dedicated that same year. Initially located in downtown Atlanta at the intersection of Peachtree and West Peachtree (near the Summit Building), the fountain was moved to its present location in 1912. A link to the history of the Erskine Fountain can be found at this link: http://www.gpconservancy.org/walking-tour/ Excerpts from an article written by Charles Lyon, a professional photographer and resident of the Grant Park neighborhood on the Grant Park Conservancy web site.
Congratulations to sean_j_allen for FTF!!!