I loved it, and this goes quadruply for my son. It was the highlight of last week's trip to Boston. For some reason it had never registered with me during the time I lived in Boston some years ago - I never hung out in Copley Square much, guess I wasn't in a wading mood or it was winter or something last time I passed through. This time, though, it was July, pretty hot, and I had a 6-year-old child with me who's crazy about water in all forms (and not overly picky about cleanliness...neither am I, this is a luxury I gave up long ago, living and working with small children and pets and not a whole lot of time or money). We live in DC, and I have never, ever seen anyone jump in any of the public fountains there, I think we'd be likely to be shot (or at least beaten a bit) by the local gendarmerie should we make the attempt. We were pretty amazed to see people wading in this one and not a cop in sight! We spent a good part of 2 days hanging around the fountain, making the acquaintance of several swimming dogs, and my son was photographed by a number of Japanese tourists.
Anyway, I look at public fountains in somewhat the same way I look at hot dogs...what you don't know (or don't think about) won't hurt you. Or perhaps, that which does not kill you, makes you stronger? (Good thing, too, as we ended up our trip with a little sojourn in the Port Authority bus terminal at 3 AM, and that's a million times yuckier than swimming in other people's feet soakings.) read more