Located in the Chapin Avenue Motor Court, directly behind the retail
store Paper Caper, is one of Burlingame's most beautiful
hidden treasures, locally refered to as "Burlingame's Wurlitzer Fountain."
This bronze fountain was created by German sculptor Walter Schott (1861-1938) around
1910. Schott named it "Drei tanzende Madchen", Three Dancing Maidens.
The sculptor recast the figures 37 different times before he was
finally satisfied with his most "crowning achievement."
The fountain was awarded the Grand Prize at The World Exposition
in Brussels in 1910, and later won the Great Gold Medal from the
Munich Glass Palace Exhibition in 1912.
Rudolph Wurlitzer, of Wurlitzer Organ fame, originally bought the
fountain in Germany. He shipped the fountain to his home in
Cincinnati, Ohio, and installed
it in the family swimming pool. In the early 1950's, his
son Raimund moved the fountain to Burlingame and placed it behind
the commercial property he owned in the 1400 block.
A twin fountain is currently located in New York's Central Park's
Conservatory Garden.
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