Located in front of Hovde Hall in the heart of campus, the Class of 1939 Water Sculpture celebrated its 30th anniversary on July 17, 2019. Often called the Engineering Fountain or the Purdue Mall Fountain, the water sculpture was a gift from the Class of 1939 to commemorate its 50th anniversary. 

Indiana sculptor Robert Youngman initially sketched the design on a napkin while having coffee at the Purdue Memorial Union with the head of the Department of Creative Arts. Youngman worked with Van Phillips, a Purdue theater professor, to create a series of lighting effects and a 20-minute lighting program orchestrated to the fountain water show.

The fountain is 38 feet tall and contains 228 tons of concrete. It was originally built with an open jet that shot 588 gallons of water per minute straight up into the air, but a stainless steel cylinder was added in 2001 after several people were injured while running through the fountain. 

The water sculpture was unveiled at an event known as the Great Fountain Turn-On held July 17, 1989. Nearly 5,000 people attended the celebration, including Youngman. The fountain was later officially dedicated during the 1989 Homecoming festivities.

According to Youngman, the patterns found on the sculpture hint at technology and are at various depths, oriented to the trajectory of the sun. “There is a sweeping movement taking the students and sending them to the stars, so to speak,” he said at the unveiling. “I like to think about the attempt to humanize technology.”

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