Chicago’s Buckingham Fountain Reopens After Being Vandalized by Pro-Palestinian Protesters

Buckingham Fountain in Chicago was reopened after it was vandalized by pro-Palestinian protesters late Friday night and early Saturday morning.

Officials from the Chicago Park District revealed in a post on X on Sunday that the fountain is “ON & fully operational.” This came a day after the Chicago Park District said it was closing the fountain “until further notice to perform maintenance.”

When the fountain is in operation, it “produces a major water display for 20 minutes every hour,” according to the Chicago Park District website. “During the major display, a center jet shoots water to a height of 150 feet into the air. Major displays begin daily at 9:00 a.m. and continue thereafter, every hour on the hour. Beginning at dusk, a spectacular light and music display accompanies the major display, beginning every hour on the hour for 20 minutes.”

Officials stated that pro-Palestinian protesters had dyed the fountain red, and spray-painted words such as, “Gaza is bleeding” and “stop the genocide,” on the ground near the fountain, according to NBC Chicago.

Protesters’ vandalism of the fountain reportedly took place late Friday night and into early Saturday morning.

The red dye in the fountain was reportedly drained into Lake Michigan, according to the outlet.

Since Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, leaving 1,200 people murdered and more than 250 people taken as hostages, pro-Palestinian protesters have staged protests, started encampments on university and college campuses, and vandalized landmarks and statues.

In November 2023, pro-Palestinian protesters smashed a door at Grand Central Station in New York City and splattered red paint on the front of the New York Times building.

Protesters in Los Angeles left several buildings close to synagogues vandalized in December 2023. Words such as, “Free Gaza” and “From the River to the Sea,” were written in graffiti.

Protesters involved in an anti-Israel encampment that was established on the campus of George Washington University in Washington, DC, in April vandalized a statue of George Washington and painted the words, “Genocidal Warmongering University,” at the base of the statue across the top half of the statue’s plaque.