Drumheller Fountain

Drumheller Fountain

Story recorded by Ana Mari Cauce, Provost at the University of Washington

In 1906 the Olmsted brothers of Brookline Massachusetts were paid a thousand dollars to prepare a master plan for the Alaska Yukon Pacific Exposition. This early plan established the site of Geyser Basin, known today as Drumheller Fountain. During the 1909 exposition, Geyser Basin, made up of both an inner and outer pond, was the terminus for a 500-foot cascade of water that stepped and flowed down the Rainier Vista walkway at a rate of 8,000 gallons of water per minute.  The water cascades were removed after the exposition, however the basin, or ponds as they were called, endured.  Over the years Drumheller fountain has served this campus in a multitude of ways. The inner pond was once was used to supply water and water pressure through underground pipes 100 feet below the basin to the Harris Hydraulics Laboratory where research on environmental fluid mechanics occurs.  The outer ring of the pond, which now exists below the circular asphalt walkway you are standing on, was used to store water for the power plant. More colorful customs have included student log rolling contests and a breeding ground for ducks and geese. However, it is perhaps best known as part of a past college ritual whereby unsuspecting freshman were tossed into its waters earning it the nickname “Frosh” pond.