One of my favorite Michael Keaton movies is Multiplicity. In it, the main character Doug decided that he needs more bandwidth and finds a doctor that will clone him. Unsatisfied with one clone he adds a second. But then his clones get in on it and make a copy of a copy. Things start to go really awry at this point.

It’s been said that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery and the Tivoli Fountain on the Olympia Capitol Campus is that times two. It’s based on the Tivoli Fountain in Copenhagen, Denmark which itself is a replica of a fountain at Villa d’Este, near Rome. The original fountain is the work of Pirro Ligorio, a 16th-century architect.

The fountain in Copenhagen was built by Fritz Meyer of Copenhagen. Peter Schmidt, then president of the Olympia Tumwater Foundation saw the fountain during his visit to Copenhagen in 1949 and believed that the Capitol campus needed a similar feature. The foundation, Schmidt and Meyer all had a hand in bringing the fountain project to fruition. I am always impressed by the sheer force of will that can bring a project together.

The fountain was rededicated in 2017 after extensive repairs. You can learn more about the fountain and other public art and memorials on this Department of Enterprise Services website.

Love,
Oly