In 1911, a Cambridge resident named Mehitable Calef Coppenhagen donated funds to the city of Boston for a fountain to be dedicated to the memory of her parents. Her bequest was accepted in 1913 and the fountain was installed three years later on the north side of Cottage Street, behind the Blake House, Boston’s oldest standing house. After years of use, the Coppenhagen Fountain fell into neglect and vandalism, and it eventually disappeared from its original site. The remains of the fountain were found in Franklin Park, where the fountain was re-erected in 1979. In 1992, after the fountain was hit by a truck, it was rebuilt and placed in Everett Square.

Today, the fountain no longer runs. Originally, however, Coppenhagen intended her tribute to be not only beautiful, but also functional: she envisioned a “drinking fountain for persons and animals,” presumably horses. The fountain’s bronze relief depicts its functional aspect, with a scene of three women and one man accompanied by Grecian urns. They may be gathering at a water source, or filling their vessels with more festive libations.