Pioneer Monument Fountain

Public Art : Pioneer Monument Fountain (aka Smoky Hill Trail Monument)

Sculptor : © Frederick MacMonnies (1863-1937)

Date: Unveiled 1911

Description: Lets start with the water basin, which is created from granite and set on a stepped granite base. In the center of the basin is three larger than life size cast bronze sculptures representing a pioneer women, a hunter and a prospector. The top bronze figure, represents Kit Carson who is, with rifle in hand, mounted on his trusty stead and dressed in his buckskins and cowboy hat. He is looking towards the east (back to the civilization he left behind), while pointing the way west (the promised land). Underneath Kit Carson on the second tier are small bronze conquered Indians.

Location : Corner of Broadway and Colfax Avenue in Denver, Colorado, USA.

Cost: $70,000

Funded by: Public subscription.

Controversy Surrounding the Pioneer Monument: Fedrerick MacMonnies was commissioned in 1906 to create a monument at the end of the historical "59ers" Smoky Hill trail, Denver, as part of Mayor Robert W. Speer's "beautification" of Denver plan. The monument was going to be a feature of the Civic Center Park, but MacMonnies suggested that the monument have its own little space elsewhere in a circular plaza. After much ado about nothing the council agreed. The original model the sculptor produced,  featured a fountain surrounded with statues of a miner, a trapper and a pioneer woman. But here comes the clincher, the main feature, which would tower above everything, was to be a sculpture of an Indian. Well, didn't that just outrage the good citizens of Denver. To say they were appalled would be an understatement. Instead the residents wanted no one other than their hero Christopher "Kit" Carson (enemy of Navajo Indians) perched at the peak. MacMonnies went to France to have the Kit Carson and the other bronze statues cast. So enthusiastic were the City they organized Kit Carson's real rifle, powder pouch and hunting coat to be sent to France so the sculptor would be sure to get it right. In the end the politically incorrect monument was erected in 1911 to great cheers, as Kit Carson was immortalized forever in bronze, on his favourite horse. To add insult to injury MacMonnies included a series of small bronze Indian sculptures below Carson on the second tier, they are depicted as captured and defeated.

Originally the foutain sat in a circular plaza complete with a circular row of trees and ornamental lights. However, over the years the original circular design has been whittled away, due mainly to Denver's expansion. In the 1920's the circle was changed to a triangle space to ease the traffic flow then, over the years, as Colfax Avenue was widened numerous times, less and less space has been left for poor old Kit and his water fountain. There are currently plans to redesign the area, going back to the original circular design and removing the ugly bus stop which is right near it. The fountain runs in the summer (unless there is water rationing) and in winter, the fountain is drained.

Well I Never! : On the 21st of October, 1999, a 28 year old nutter scaled the Pioneer Monument shouting he was armed with dynamite. Colfax, Lincoln and Broadway streets were subsequently closed during rush hour. From his perch he invited the media to come to his house so he could explain his outrageous behavior. He believed he had been chosen by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as the Son of Man and was to be crucified. His attention seeking antics fell on deaf ears, as the media outlets were more interested in reporting on the Jon Bennet Ramsay case. No one turned up for his hearing and he was charged with possession of a false explosive and refusing to leave a premises. Sorry can't tell you anymore as no bothered to report the outcome.

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