Electric Fountain, 1931

(Robert) Merrell Gage (1892-1981)

Concrete, Bas Relief, Tile

City of Beverly Hills with a donation by the Beverly Hills Women's Club

Merrell Gage's six-foot-high cast concrete figure is of a member of the indigenous Tongva tribe, kneeling in prayer. The figure is mounted on a 20-foot square concrete shaft rising from a cylindrical splash basin. The basin's frieze is comprised of relief carvings depicting various scenes from California history. The fountain is further enhanced by terracotta mosaic pavement tiles, benches, landscaping, and, each evening, a program of colored light cast on the plumes of water, timed to cycle approximately every eight minutes.