12 Facts About The Fountain

1. The Fountain can be seen for a handful of seconds about nine minutes into the 1983 film National Lampoon's Vacation as the Griswolds are pulling out of Chicago.

2. The Fountain is constructed of Georgia pink marble and contains 1,500,000 US gallons of water.

3. The Fountain was donated to the city by Kate Sturges Buckingham in memory of her brother, Clarence Buckingham, and was constructed at a cost of $750,000.

4. The Fountain has participated every year since the Polar Plunge started in 2009.

5. The Fountain hopes to finalize any tweaks by the end of the year, Martinez said.

6. The Fountain is looking at rules that Colorado Springs has imposed on short-term rentals, Martinez said.

7. The Fountain took 30 years to build upon completion in 1762.

8. The Fountain dates back to ancient Roman times, since the construction of the Aqua Virgo Aqueduct in 19 BC.

9. The Fountain hoped to petition for the film to be re-released in the Criterion Collection with extras that were not made available on the initial media.

10. The Fountain shared the concept with Handel, his undergraduate school roommate at Harvard University.

11. The Fountain sought to make a science fiction film that would explore new territory in the genre like The Matrix and its predecessors Star Wars and 2001: A Space Odyssey.

12. The Fountain is a 2006 American epic magical realism romantic drama film that blends elements of fantasy, history, spirituality, and science fiction.