History of the Location of the Fountain:
The Fountain was originally built in 1959 and was located in front of Hovde Hall. However, in 1988 it was taken down and put into storage during the renovation of the Purdue Mall. In its place, the Purdue Mall Fountain (Engineering Fountain) was built. The Loeb Fountain was taken out of storage in 1993 and moved to the Founders Park east of University Hall and South of Beering Hall. It was modified to be safer for those who wanted to run through the fountain by fitting the bollards (columns in a ring around the outer edge) with four jets instead just the original two in order to reduce water pressure. Also, it no longer has the original colored lights.
Funding of the Original Fountain:
The original fountain, completed in 1959, was built by Bert and June Loeb in honor of Bert’s father, Solomon Loeb. Solomon owned Loeb’s Department Store located in Lafayette.
Water Power of Current Fountain:
Spits out 2200 gallons of water per minute. It has a tiered design. The outer jets are housed in the ring of bollards. The jets point to the middle platform which houses a ring upward shooting water jets. These surround the center most jet that is pressurized to make it shoot water the highest.
The original fountain, completed in 1959, was built by Bert and June Loeb in honor of Bert’s father, Solomon Loeb. Solomon owned Loeb’s Department Store located in Lafayette.
Water Power of Current Fountain:
Spits out 2200 gallons of water per minute. It has a tiered design. The outer jets are housed in the ring of bollards. The jets point to the middle platform which houses a ring upward shooting water jets. These surround the center most jet that is pressurized to make it shoot water the highest.