Wallace Fountains in Paris

A familiar "face" in the Parisian landscape: the "Wallace" fountain! Named after the British philantropist who kindly donated 70 of them to Paris after the dramatic Commune in 1871.

Most of them are painted the same green as the urban newsstands, benches and Morris columns (those made for advertising). That green colour had been chosen by Napoleon III to keep the urban decor as close to nature as possible.

The 4 cariatides decorating the fountains represent: Simplicity ; Kindness ; Sobriety and Charity. This model of the fountain is the most common one. The last photo shows the model without the cariatides. Cheers!