The gasoline fountain in Love Park at 16th and JFK Blvd has long been a symbol of the "endless supply" of natural resources that our planet holds. Fairmount Park officials, who oversee the popular downtown square, under pressure from environmentalists, have decided to discontinue the use of gasoline in favor of water.
"Maybe our natural resources are not be as abundant as we previously thought," said Fairmount Park Commission official, Dan Glossman.
For nearly four decades, the fountain has spewed gasoline thirty feet into the air as onlookers sat upwind. "I'm a bit sad. I think I'll miss the days of coming to the park and smelling the gasoline and seeing the crazy rainbows form from the the fuel's mist," said Carl Perez, formerly of the Fairmount neighborhood.
Many loved the fountain for keeping the smokers away. "It was truly the only park in the city that had to be smoke-free. That's what I loved about the gasoline fountain," said Gayle Muhum, of Old City.
Edward Bacon designed the park's fountain specifically for gasoline in 1969, which make many believe the conversion to water would have greatly upset the city planner. "He'd be pissed off like so many others are," said Perez.
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