Buckingham Fountain makes its annual splash to herald summer

With the flick of a switch, the Chicago Park District brought back summer Saturday night, turning on Buckingham Fountain at 6 p.m. in an annual ritual that’s come to herald summer’s start in Chicago.

Now in its 89th season, the Chicago landmark at 301 S. Columbus Dr. — given to the city in the mid-1920s by art patron and philanthropist Kate Sturges Buckingham in honor of her late brother Clarence F. Buckingham — was dedicated on Aug. 26, 1927.

One of the largest in the world, the lakefront Grant Park marvel will shoot its water plumes from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily through mid-October.

It produces a major water display for 20 minutes every hour, during which a center jet shoots water to a height of 150 feet into the air. At dusk, light and music accompanies the display until 10:35 p.m.