CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) — Grant Park’s Buckingham Fountain reopened on Sunday, one day after demonstrators vandalized the fountain and dyed its waters bright red in a protest over the Israel-Hamas war.
In a social media post, the Chicago Park District wrote: “Our beloved Buckingham Fountain is on and fully operational. Thank you for your patience.”
Chicagoans woke up on Saturday to find that protesters had dyed the fountain’s water red and spray-painted the words “Gaza is bleeding” and “Stop genocide” onto the nearby pavers. Those words have since been removed.
Buckingham Fountain has been the site of protests over the war in recent weeks.
Former CBS 2 photographer Colin Hinkle provided images of the demonstration to WBBM Newsradio. Hinkle said he was surprised that protesters were able to even get into the area.
“I was just surprised — given the fact that most of the area is closed now for NASCAR and all of the construction going on for that — that someone was able to get in there overnight ... and to be able to get away with that," Hinkle told WBBM.
Hinkle shared images to his social media that appeared to show the city dumping the red water out of Buckingham Fountain and into Lake Michigan.
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