Darlington Memorial Fountain

The Darlington Memorial Fountain, also known as the Joseph Darlington Fountain, Nymph and Fawn, and Darlington Fountain, is a sculpture by C. Paul Jennewein atop a fountain in honor of Joseph James Darlington. It is located at Judiciary Park, where 5th Street, D Street, and Indiana Avenue NW intersect in the Judiciary Square neighborhood of Washington, D.C. The fountain is surrounded on three sides by government buildings, including the United States Court of Military Appeals, the H. Carl Moultrie Courthouse, and the former District of Columbia City Hall.

Darlington (1849–1920) was a native of South Carolina who worked as a teacher for several years before moving to Washington, D.C. He took classes at the Columbian Law School (now the George Washington University Law School), and founded a law practice with a friend after they graduated. Darlington earned a reputation as a religious and friendly person. He stopped teaching law classes and focused on writing a successful book, which was used for decades by other law students. When he died in 1920, Darlington received an outpouring of support from politicians, lawyers, and his religious friends.

A memorial was planned one year after Darlington's death. There were several submissions for a memorial and Jennewein, a successful German-American sculptor, was selected for the project. The fountain and its sculpture were paid for by members of the Washington Bar Association. After the United States Commission of Fine Arts approved his design, Jennewein began working on the project. The sculpture was ready by 1922, but the remaining pedestal and basin were not yet completed. When it was finished in late 1923, the unveiling of the fountain revealed a naked woman, something that was the source of many complaints about the artwork.

During later years, the fountain was often broken and the basin was used as a trash can. The National Park Service, which owned and maintained the fountain, transferred ownership to the Government of the District of Columbia. The fountain is one of many contributing properties to the Pennsylvania Avenue National Historic Site, which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1966. It is also a contributing property to the proposed Judiciary Square Historic District.

History

Biography

Joseph James Darlington was born February 10, 1849, in Due West, South Carolina. His parents had chosen to move to Due West because the town's schools had a good reputation of educating children. Darlington and one of his siblings attended Erskine College, earning his Bachelor of Arts degree when he was 19. Later that year, he began teaching, moving several times to other towns in South Carolina where he not only taught in schools, but worked as a private tutor as well. Darlington took music lessons and would sing at night in one of the drawing rooms. In 1872, he accepted a teaching job in Rome, Georgia, where he remained for several years before moving to Washington, D.C., to practice law.

When Darlington arrived in Washington, D.C., he came with an introduction letter written by Alexander H. Stephens, who had served as Vice President of the Confederate States of America during the Civil War. The letter was given to Richard T. Merrick, a leader in the city's bar. Darlington began studying law at the Columbian Law School (now the George Washington University Law School), and quickly advanced through his courses, earning a Bachelor of Laws in 1875.

Darlington and his friend, Talmadge A. Lambert, opened their own practice in the Capitol Hill neighborhood. His first dollars from the practice were given to Fifth Baptist Church, where he would attend for decades, as Darlington was a very religious person who read parts of the Bible each day, and did not smoke or gamble. Darlington's passion for law combined with his friendly personality endeared him to many in the community, including other lawyers.

After the death of his second wife, Darlington became depressed, and decided working a lot would be the cure. By 1881, he returned to teaching, this time at his alma mater, Columbian Law School. He remained there until 1896, when he left to continue writing his law school book. The book was a success and used for decades at the college's law school. Darlington died on June 24, 1920, and there was an immense outpouring of praise from people involved with religious, judicial, and commercial interests. He was buried at Oak Hill Cemetery.

The Southern Baptist Convention voted in 1921 to erect a memorial in Darlington's honor. The resolution stated in part: "He became eminent in his profession, being regarded by many as the ablest lawyer in the District of Columbia. He was constantly before the United States Supreme Court in cases of National note" and "His great intellectuality, his legal and literary attainments and his versatile accomplishments were crowned by a gentle and gracious spirit. The Christian religion found in him a rare advocate and exemplar."

Memorial

There were additional calls for a memorial by members of the Washington Bar Association (WBA). Members of the WBA funded the project at a cost of $9,173. Six sculptors submitted three designs that the United States Commission of Fine Arts (CFA) received, and German-American C. Paul Jennewein's design was selected in 1921. His initial design was for the memorial to be a drinking fountain. Some of Jennewein's other works in Washington, D.C., include dozens of sculptural elements inside the Robert F. Kennedy Department of Justice Building, the Trylon of Freedom in front of the E. Barrett Prettyman United States Courthouse, the Noyes Armillary Sphere in Meridian Hill Park, and sculptures for the Rayburn House Office Building.

Congressional support for the fountain came from Representative James F. Byrnes and Senator Frank B. Brandegee. On March 3, 1923, an Act of Congress approved the installation of the fountain on federal land, with a few exceptions, such as the National Mall and United States Capitol Complex. The location chosen for the fountain was chosen because Darlington spent much time in the area's court buildings, and one of his offices was on the opposite corner of the memorial. Site work for the fountain began in September 1923, when workers began laying the foundation.

原文较长，这里只摘了前面一部分，摘自英文维基百科「Darlington Memorial Fountain」（暂时没有中文条目，下面是英文原文），按 CC BY-SA 4.0 使用，去掉了参考文献、外部链接等尾部小节和表格，其余文字未作改动。