Crown Fountain (sometimes known as the "Squirting Faces") is an interactive work of public art and video sculpture featured in Chicago's Millennium Park, which is located in the Loop community area.

Designed by Spanish artist Jaume Plensa and executed by Krueck and Sexton Architects, it opened in July 2004.

[10] Grant Park, which is between Lake Michigan and the central business district, is commonly called "Chicago's Front Yard".

[19] Prior to Crown Fountain, Plensa's dominant theme had been dualism,[20] which he had expanded to artworks in which the viewers are outside, and the visible subjects of the art are inside containers and hollow spaces.

[1] His representation has become a part of the city's pop culture; the first few episodes of the first season of Prison Break featured shots of the fountain.

[22] The fountain is known for encouraging its visitors to splash and slide in the reflecting pool, jostle for position under the water spout and place themselves under the cascade.

Although the city planned for some interactivity, the transformation of the fountain into a water park for kids within hours of opening surprised Plensa.

[10] Approximately 75 ethnic, social, and religious Chicago organizations were asked to provide candidates whose faces would be photographed for integration into the fountain.

The SAIC students filmed their subjects with a $100,000 high-definition HDW-F900 video camera, the same model used in the production of the three Star Wars prequels.

Public art was a departure from Krueck & Sexton's residential and corporate office-dominated portfolio, which includes buildings like the Spertus Institute.

The fountain's black granite reflecting pool measures 48 by 232 feet (15 by 71 m) and has an approximate water depth of 0.25 inches (6.4 mm).

[1] The firm designed a special stainless steel T-frame both to bear the load of the walls, which are 50 feet (15 m) high, and to withstand lateral wind forces.

Rods measuring 0.5 inches (13 mm) in diameter anchor to the structure and project into the frame for lateral stability, while triangular corner brackets add support.

[35] The process used sand and soda ash heated to a temperature of 2,600 °F (1,430 °C) and "gathered" with a large clay ball resembling a honey dipper.

[2] Two essential custom fittings contribute to the artistic vision of the fountain: a custom glass block at the upper edge for guiding the water's descent while remaining unobtrusive, and a plastic nozzle fitted to the stainless steel frame to control the rate of water flow and reduce liability to the city for any injuries sustained by the fountain's interactive participants.

[3] LEDs fit into an electrical circuit, causing illumination by the movement of electrons in the semiconductor material and making a filament unnecessary, so the bulbs never burn out and do not get too hot.

[43] An additional challenge was designing the structure to facilitate interior access for ongoing maintenance and repairs, while accommodating two levels of underground parking underneath.

[30] Originally, Plensa had planned to have each face appear for 13 minutes,[17] and this continued to be the targeted duration when the testing of the sculpture occurred.

[17] Plensa's design of Crown Fountain was unveiled to the public on July 16–18, during the 2004 grand opening celebrations for Millennium Park.

[45] At the time of the unveiling, Crown Fountain, like the nearby Cloud Gate, was incomplete because only 300 of the videos had been refined for public display.

[46] It was officially dedicated on July 24, 2004 as part of a special private fundraising party that raised $3 million for the Millennium Park Conservancy fund.

[47][48] The control center for the synchronization of images, water flow, and lighting color and intensity is beneath one of the towers, in a room that covers 550 square feet (51 m2).

Generally, the computer programs automatically perform tasks such as determining when the face will pucker and, if weather conditions permit, when to turn the water on and off.

[3] At night, the ETC system controls spotlights that illuminate the cascading water and that are dimmed by special wet-use location ground fault circuit interrupters.

There are 12 mechanical pumps that are regulated from a control room in the underground parking garage beneath the south tower of the fountain.

[56] Grant Park has been protected since 1836 by "forever open, clear and free" legislation that has been affirmed by four previous Illinois Supreme Court rulings.

However, Crown Fountain and Jay Pritzker Pavilion, which stands 139 feet (42 m) tall, were exempt from the height restriction because they were classified as works of art and not buildings or structures.

[61] In November 2006, Crown Fountain became the focus of a public controversy when the city added surveillance cameras atop each tower.

[63][64] The city said that the cameras were largely for security reasons, but also partly to help park officials monitor burnt-out lights.

[66] Chicago Tribune architecture critic Blair Kamin, who is pleased with the sculptures' verticalness, says the fountain helps appropriately depict the modern 21st-century urban park.