Friday, November 12, 2010

Rideout Fountain in Golden Gate Park, SF

I took these on Veteran's Day...
Golden Gate Park, SF, CA 11/11/10
Golden Gate Park, SF, CA 11/11/10
After some set backs, this recently-restored, fountain from 1924 graces the park once again. The serpents head is actually a recreation done by artist Manuel Palos based on photos of the original- which disappeared.

(The seagull just happened to be there when I took the pic and is not a part of the original design. At least I don't think it is).

The original sculptor was M. Earl Cummings (who had hoped it would end up being a bronze statue. But, it wasn't in the budget...)

At first I thought- "What a crazy match-up! Tiger vs snake? And a saber tooth tiger, no less! This is like one of those Syfy original movies!"

But, hey- it happens in real life, man...


Previously:
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3 comments:

  1. What a trip. I was there yesterday. The same day you took the photos. My girl friend and I have taken to sitting in that same spot. I think it is our new favorite GGP spot as well. We often ride out there and sit and contemplate the whole Big Cat versus Snake concept over red wine. We have discussed who would win and I last said that they were pretty evenly matched. My girl thought the snake would have the upper hand. I was trying to find info on the statue when I ran across your blog. It is pretty amusing to see we are not the only ones fascinated by this epic struggle between fang and claw.

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  2. It is pretty amusing to see we are not the only ones fascinated by this epic struggle between fang and claw.

    I know, right? I feel a little less crazy now! It just seems kind of random.

    I wonder what inspired Mr. Cummings to go with 'Big Cat vs Big Snake' in the first place.

    Prohibition was still in effect back in 1924. I can just picture him & his buds sitting around a speakeasy; Wearing spats; Drinking god-knows-what & discussing which animal could kick which animal's ass...

    (Please note that we here at Beej Weir's Blog in no way are trying to insinuate that Mr. Cummings was a drunk or something. We've just been watching too much Boardwalk Empire on HBO)

    Or maybe there's a deeper symbolism at work here. I guess we'll never really know for sure.
    It's a cool fountain no matter what. I'm glad The City brought it back!

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