With the Maurice columns, the discreet Wallace fountains are part of the “little” history of Paris. These small fountains scattered around the capital have the particularity to be placed under the sign of philanthropy. Indeed, they were financed by an Englishman and they offer free water to all Parisians 365 days a year. There are about 120 of them in the four corners of the capital.

The history of the Wallace fountains

The Wallace fountains date from 1872 and were named after their generous donor Richard Wallace (born in 1818 and died in 1890). This man was an Englishman who lived in Paris during the siege by the Prussian army in 1870-1871. At this time in French history, this wealthy English collector could not help but notice that Parisians were experiencing their first water shortage. The reason for this was quite simple. A large part of the aqueducts that supplied Paris with drinking water had been destroyed.

A few months later, an uprising broke out in Paris, known as the “commune”. And during these troubles, the Parisians will suffer once again the shortage of water. A shortage that inevitably affects first the poorest and the needy.

It is thus following these two historical episodes that Richard Wallace will write a page of the small history of Paris. His benevolence and generosity have been a lifesaver for generations of Parisians. But if we use the expression “little history of Paris”, it is simply because it must be recognized that a tiny part of the inhabitants knows the true history of the Wallace fountains in Paris. And others do not even know that the water from Wallace fountains is drinkable. It is of the same quality as that of the network that supplies the Parisian apartments.

Zoom on the Wallace fountains in Paris

The fountains are made of cast iron and come from a foundry in Haute-Marne. There are four variations of the Wallace fountains.

The most common is the one pictured below. It is 2.71 meters high and it is composed of four women who turn their backs on each other. On the Dome, there are some dolphins.

In the past, the Wallace fountains were equipped with a small pewter cup connected to the fountain by a small chain. But at the beginning of the 50s they were removed for reasons of hygiene.

The first fountain was installed on the boulevard de la Villette in the 19th district in 1872.