The idea for a majestic water garden feature in the Bayfront Arts and Science Park was first floated in 1981 by the Foundation for Sciences and Arts. The Foundation approached the City Council and agreed to split the cost of the project with the city.
In July 1983, the city endorsed the project and began raising its share of the funding by raising the hotel occupancy tax to 7%.
The original cost estimate for the project was $2.1 million, which included an underground parking garage beneath the water garden.
The project was to be constructed in the open space between the new Convention Center, the Art Museum, the Harbor Playhouse, and the Museum of Science and History.
Contributed Photo – Robert Parks The Foundation had hired New York landscape architect, Robert Zion, to design a tentative plan for the project. Over the next year, debates over the design plan prevented the project from moving forward.
Meanwhile, the cost of the project had risen by another half million dollars. It was not until March of 1986 that an acceptable design was approved and a drawing of the design made public. Construction, however, would not be able to start until at least September because of several complications.