Boy and Elephant Fountain—Petal
The Elephant Fountain is a life-size fountain sculpture of an elephant and boy by artist Zenos Frudakis. The playful elephant is spraying water onto life size 10-year-old boy. The entire sculpture, elephant and boy, are sculpted from life. Her informal name, Petal, comes from her real-life model at the Philadelphia Zoo.
The elephant fountain was originally commissioned by Stockton Strawbridge, the scion of the Strawbridge and Clothier retail empire. Strawbridge had just returned from Africa and wanted children to be as thrilled by the elephant as he was. Petal made her debut at the Burlington Center Mall in the summer of 1982. When the mall opened, it hosted 100 stores and restaurants.
But 30 years later, as with many malls, shoppers lessened with the convenience of online purchases and door-todoor delivery. In January 2018, when frozen pipes burst, damaging the fire alarm system it lead to the officials’ decision to close the mall.
Size: 12-feet from front to back, 11-feet high and 8 feet wide
Media: Fiberglass
Weight: 2,500 pounds
New Location: City of Burlington, New Jersey
Original Location: Strawbridge & Clothier, Burlington Center Mall, Burlington, New Jersey
Debut at Burlington Center Mall: Summer of 1982
Comment on Sculpture:
"I didn't want to create a taxidermy elephant, because it is poetry in a way you are creating. It is art. It wasn't a particular elephant, it was an abstracted, essential elephant. I wanted to create the form of elephant—an idealized elephant."
- Zenos Frudakis