[2] The unveiling in 1912 was celebrated all over Washington, DC over the course of three days with parades, concerts and fireworks gathering tens of thousands of people from all over the world.

The back of the shaft is inscribed: The fountain sits in the center of the Columbus traffic circle in front of Union Station.

The Evening Star enumerates the exacts details of the design: The fountain will be placed directly in front of Union station at the juncture of Delaware and Massachusetts avenues.

A stone column or shaft about 10 feet in height, surmounted with a globe representing the world, is the principal feature of the rear of the fountain and is intended to serve as a background for statue of Columbus standing at the bow of a Spanish caravel similar in general design to the picturesque craft that first brought him to America.

The uprearing prow of the ship, with its figure of Columbus, stands on the line of Delaware Avenue and faces the National Capitol.

Two recumbent lions are placed on the walls of the fountain, one at the east and the other at the west side and there are other architectural and artistic details embodied in the general scheme.

[7] In all, twenty sculptors submitted proposals for the fountain including: Henri Cronier, Philip Martiny, Charles Keck, Augustus Lukeman, Alfred Sauder, Henry Hering, Charles J. Pike, Pierre Feitu, Leo Lentelli, John C. Hardy, John K. Daniels, Hans Schuler, Giuseppi Donato, J. Otto Schweizer, V.R.

[6] The models received were put on display in December 1908 in the fifth-floor corridor of the State, War and Navy Departement Building.

By that time, the Committee was composed of Senator George P. Wetmore of Rhode Island, James McCleary of Minnesota, Secretary of State Elihu Root, Secretary of War Luke E. Wright, and Edward L. Hearn, Supreme Knight of the Order of the Knights of Columbus.

[7] William H. Taft was no longer on the committee as he had resigned as Secretary of War on June 30 to devote himself to his campaign to become the 27th President of the United States.

The remaining of the funds allocated to this project ($79,000) were to be used to provide all the materials (bronze and granite) as well as the labor for carvings, casting, transportation to the site and setting the memorial in place.

The ad called for "sealed proposals for stonework (granite or marble) for foundations, concrete piles, masonry, etc., and for plumbing and sewers" to be submitted to the committee before midnight on July 28, 1911.

An ad published in the Washington Herald and Washington Times on June 7 indicates that the Washington-Virginia Electric Railway was the "Official Route" of the Knight of Columbus to Mount Vernon leaving from 12th Street and Pennsylvania Ave.[13][14] From 7:30 to 10:30 pm, a public reception was held at the new National Museum (now known as the National Museum of Natural History) which opened the previous year with music played by the United States Marine Band and the presence of the Columbus Memorial commission.

Among the dignitaries present were DC Commissioner Cuno Hugo Rudolph, Senator Henry F. Ashurst of Arizona and Judge William H. De Lacy of the Juvenile Court.

[citation needed] A parade was planned starting at 3:00 pm featuring an estimated 50,000 participants for the civic portion.

As the Stars and Stripes fell away from the statue, a battery from the 3rd Field Artillery from Fort Myer fired a 21-gun salute.

President Taft provided the formal address followed by a selection of pieces performed by the Marine Band.

[22] On Sunday at 7:00 am, veterans assembled at the St. Patrick's Catholic Church for military mass with Cardinal James Gibbons.

[6] At 8:00 pm, a final public concert was held at the Convention Hall featuring the US Marine Band and Symphony Orchestra of sixty pieces.

[15] Every year Columbus Day celebrations are held featuring the US Marine Corps Band and a wreath laying ceremony.

The statues have been painted over to hide the discolorations and the fountain basins are boarded up to avoid further damage as the plumbing does not function.

[25] In July 2024, the fountain was vandalized with graffiti by people protesting a speech given to the U.S. Congress by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, with messages written such as “Hamas is coming”, “Free Gaza”, “Long Live Resistance” and “All Zionists Are Bastards”.

[26] Zaid Mohammad Mahdawi who wrote the graffiti supporting Hamas was later arrested by the United States Park Police and the FBI.