Part of a larger beautification plan for the Midway Plaisance, Time was constructed from a new type of molded, steel-reinforced concrete that was claimed to be more durable and cheaper than alternatives.

Although extensive renovation of the sculpture was completed as recently as 2005, the supporters of Time continue to seek resources for additional lighting, and the National Trust for Historic Preservation has nominated it for further funding.

[10][11] As part of the plan, the two ends of the Midway were to be connected by a canal in the deep depressions linking lagoons in Jackson and Washington Parks.

Make big plans: aim high in hope and work ..." In 1907, Taft had won the first commission from the Ferguson Fund to create the Fountain of the Great Lakes at the Art Institute of Chicago.

Taft's initial commission from the trust was limited to the creation of a full-sized plaster model of Fountain of Time, under a five-year $10,000 ($308,283) annual installment contract signed on February 6, 1913.

[3][4] Its importance stems from its sculptor, its message, the era in which it was created,[28] and the design of its reflecting pool by Howard Van Doren Shaw.

[1] University of Chicago President Harry Pratt Judson delivered an address at the dedication ceremony at the Midway Plaisance, before contributions from Taft.

For years, John Joseph Earley of Washington, DC, had used pebbles that seemed durable in the face of elements such as the weather and urban soot and grime.

[39] The reflection from the silica of the crushed stones complemented the durability with artistic beauty; the same material was used at Chicago's Fine Arts Building.

[39] The sculpture depicts a hooded Father Time carrying a scythe,[40] and watching over a parade of 100 figures arranged in an ellipse, with an overall pyramidal geometry.

[24] Time commemorates the first 100 years of peace between the United States and Great Britain after the Treaty of Ghent concluded the War of 1812 on December 24, 1814.

[43] Taft's figures represent birth, the struggle for existence, love, family life, religion, poetry, and war.

[45] Although most of the figures are generic representations of human forms in various walks and stages of life, Taft included himself, with one of his assistants following him, along the west side of the sculpture.

[47] It was produced in the period following his assignment to design sculptures for William Le Baron Jenney's 1893 Horticultural Building for the World's Columbian Exposition.

[50] Designed without expansion joints, Time is one of a small number of outdoor sculptures made of reinforced pebble/concrete aggregate, few of which have been created since the 1930s.

Although the sculpture received regular maintenance, early repair crews often did more harm than good, by using techniques such as sandblasting and patching cracks with rigid materials.

[46] By early 1997, after almost two decades of activity, the only repairs completed were phase one of the air ventilation system to dehumidify the hollow base, the drainage pipes and a new inner roof.

[28] Plans now included the erection of a temporary two-story metal building to protect all but the giant Father Time from the harsh winters and to facilitate year-round repair; the reinforcement of corroded steel interior portions; the replacement of inconsistent patches; the substitution of engineered spacing for natural cracks, and finally, hand-brushed concrete recoating.

[2][55] Five workers began repairing the cracks, killing biological growth, removing calcium deposits and pollution-blackened gypsum, and coating the 10,000-square-foot (930 m2) surface with a combination of lime putty, adobe cement and sand.

[57][58] This work was carried out in the summer of 2005 at a slightly reduced budget, and the fountain was filled with water for the first time in over fifty years.

[38][62] The finished portions of Fountain of Creation, depicting figures from the Greek legend of the repopulation of Earth after the great flood,[12] are considered Taft's final work, and were given to University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, his alma mater.