A Tale of Two Fountains

Principal and Managing Director in Walter P Moore’s Diagnostics Group, David Ford, partnered with fellow Diagnostic Engineer Fatemeh Shirmohammadi to outline the innovations to two of Kansas City’s most beloved fountains—Delbert J. Haff Circle Fountain and Meyer Circle Sea Horse Fountain.

“Kansas City’s first fountains date back to the late 1800s and the community’s love affair with fountains has flourished ever since. Today, you will find over 200 aquatic showpieces-large and small, artistically intricate and cleverly simple-gracing nearly every courtyard, parkland, and tree-lined boulevard throughout the area, including the Delbert J. Haff Circle Fountain and Meyer Circle Sea Horse Fountain.

In the 1890s, Delbert J. Haff rose as an essential figure for the city’s Parks and Recreation Board, influencing the community’s approach to preservation, beautification, and neighborhood-building, even today. In 1937, the city designed a circle entrance to the west side of Swope Park and at the east end of Meyer Boulevard, dedicating it to Mr. Haff and honoring his contributions to the local parks system. Originally, the fountain pool measured 180 ft (55 m) long by 60 ft (18 m) wide, with depths that varied from 28 in (0.7 m) on the east end to 42 in (1.1 m) on the west end, and a low retaining wall of coursed stone.”