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The Legacy Fountain
by Becca Chambers
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The Legacy
Fountain was dedicated on January 28, 2005 during
Heritage Day, an annual celebration of Florida State
University’s
history. The monument is situated in the
center of Landis Green located on Florida State
University’s
eastern side of campus that is home to the original campus of the
Florida State
College for Women. The fountain represents
the university’s evolution from a women’s liberal arts college into the
coeducational research university of today.
There are six
life-sized bronze figures in the fountain that are meant to be
representative
of the female student population of the Florida State College for Women
and the
current coeducational population of Florida State University. Water fills the monument and acts as a
reflection pool to remember the institution’s past and look toward the
future. A wall of water in the center of
the pool
symbolizes the institution’s rapid transition from the Florida State
College
for Women to Florida
State University
and places three figures on each side of the pool.
On the
Landis Hall or south side of the fountain, the three female figures
symbolize
the Florida State College for Women. Their
attire reflects the college’s culture
during its existence from
1915 until 1947. One figure holds a book
and wears an F-Club sweater from the college’s athletic club of the day. Another figure dons a wool bathing suit like
those worn by participants in the college’s Tarpon Club and used for
participation in regular swimming competitions held at the indoor
swimming pool
in the Mongomery Gymnasium and reaches forward as she looks over the
water to
the future on the other side of the monument. The
third figure is dressed in a middie blouse
like those traditionally
worn by the students at the women’s college. It
is believed by some that, though
the college never required the students to wear a
uniform, the expense of the traditional middie blouse outfit
discouraged lower
income women from attending the Florida State College for Women. The three figures appear to represent the
academic, social, and athletic aspects of the student culture.
On
the Strozier
Library or north side of the fountain are two female figures and one
male
figure representing the students of today. As
their counterparts on the other side of the
fountain, they are
dressed in fashion typical of their time, in that one of the females
wears a
tank top, while the other female wears shorts and hold her sunglasses
as she
gazes towards the other side of the fountain representing the past. The male student fashions knee-length shorts
and no shirt.
The Florida
State
College for Women and Florida
State University
seals are found on their respective sides of the fountain floor. The seals are made of Venetian glass tiles
and were created by Florida
State
students
participating in the Master Craftsman program. Along
the edge of the fountain are five bronze
plaques that each
explains a piece of history from FSCW or FSU. One
plaque describes the Jack Tar Middies as the
style of blouse worn by
students daily at FSCW. Another plaque
speaks of the future of FSU as major center for research and education.
To add to all of
the symbolism captured within the fountain itself is the fountain’s
placement
on campus. The fountain lies in the
heart of Landis Green with the Florida State College for Women side
facing
Landis Hall to the south and the Florida State
University
side looking at Strozier library to the north. Landis
Hall was built in 1939 during the FSCW years
and remains standing
as one of the older structures on campus.
Strozier
Library was built in 1956 after the school became Florida State
University
and represents the university's movement toward a research institution. Landis Green itself has been a place for
socialization and recreation on campus since at least 1932 for students
of both
the Florida State College for Women and Florida State
University.
The
fountain is
the creation of Edward Jonas, a painter and cofounder of the Portrait
Society
of America, who received his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Florida State University
in 1971. Mr. Jonas is also the creator
of other sculptures found on the Florida State
campus such as the
Francis Eppes monument and the statue entitled Sportsmanship. Recently, Mr.
Jonas received an appointment to the Florida Supreme Court Committee on
Arts in
the Courts.
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Photographs by Becca Chambers
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