Littlefield Fountain - The Gateway to the Tower

Photo: Michael Barera, CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)

A stop on UT Austin Campus Walk, a free self-guided tour.

Turn and look north. From here the South Mall rises in steps and lawns to the Main Building, and the Tower stands perfectly framed at the top. This is the view the campus planners wanted you to have.

The fountain is a World War I memorial, dedicated in 1933 and paid for by regent George W. Littlefield. Italian-born sculptor Pompeo Coppini created the bronze group: a ship's prow carrying the winged figure of Columbia with torches, flanked by a soldier and a sailor, while three sea horses charge through the water, two of them ridden by mermen. Plaques on the wall honor students and alumni who died in that war.

The South Mall has also changed with the times. Statues of Confederate figures once lined it; the university relocated or removed them in 2015 and 2017. Walk around the basin slowly, read the names, and then take in the long view to the Tower.

Getting here: Walk east along 21st Street to the foot of the South Mall. The fountain sits at the bottom of the mall, facing the Tower.

Did you know?: Coppini first proposed a memorial to the Confederate dead; the fountain as built was dedicated to university men who died in World War I.

Photo op: Stand south of the basin and line up the bronze prow with the Tower at the top of the South Mall - the classic UT postcard view.

More on Wikipedia: Littlefield Fountain · Pompeo Coppini · George W. Littlefield

Littlefield Fountain - The Gateway to the Tower

Stops on this tour