Delacorte Fountain

The Delacorte Fountain, also known as the Delacorte Geyser, was a landmark of immense scale that once stood at the southern tip of what is now Roosevelt Island. Dedicated in 1969, it was donated by publishing magnate George T. Delacorte and modeled after the famous Jet d'Eau in Geneva, Switzerland. The fountain was engineered to blast a plume of East River water hundreds of feet into the air, briefly holding the title of the tallest fountain in the world. Its creator famously dismissed concerns about its purpose by comparing it to the Eiffel Tower, arguing that not every structure in a city needs a practical function.