1158 - Peace Fountain by Charles E. Gagnon

Across from Iñigo Manglano-Ovalle’s sculpture in Rochester’s Peace Plaza, is the Peace Fountain, crafted by Charles Eugene Gagnon, who was a local sculptor of international acclaim. The story of the fountain began in 1970 when Gagnon designed the original small model with the hopes of creating a sculpture that would inspire peace. He dreamed it would one day be enlarged for all to enjoy. That small model was the beginning of a decades-long story and an artists’ legacy rooted in peace.

In 1988, Gagnon’s vision took flight when the City of Rochester commissioned him to enlarge his Peace Fountain to twelve feet tall and planned on placing it in the center of the city. Using a process that hasn’t changed much in thousands of years, he worked tirelessly day and night for an entire year, welding and assembling the doves that make up the fountain. With the assistance of personally trained Minnesota artisans and professional mold makers, Gagnon crafted 57 wax doves to be used to create molds for the bronze doves. Each dove, with its own unique shape and distinct characteristics, weighed between 40-50 pounds, making the completed fountain well over 2 tons. It was completed in 1989.

The peace doves inspire the human spirit in an eternal pursuit for global peace and symbolize the fifty states of our great country and the seven major continents of the world. At the apex of the Peace Fountain are three peace doves that symbolize the past, present, and future. The doves of peace are flying upward, uplifting the human spirit. In the summer, water flows up through the center of the Fountain and crests at the top before cascading down, over and around each dove, until it rests in the retaining pool and is recycled. It truly is a glorious sight.

For decades now, the Peace Fountain has served as a universal symbol of peace for the entire world. Annually, millions of people pass through Peace Plaza with its treasured historic fountain. Whether they know it or not, they leave with a moment of peace inspired by Charles Gagnon’s fountain just as he had hoped. In 2013, the first Ardie Award for Public Art was presented to Gagnon. His wife accepted the award saying “Charles dedicated his life to creating a sculpture that would have meaning beyond his time.” And that is exactly what he did.