Every morning, he's there - kneeling in the same pose as the day before. He hasn't moved in the 24 years I've passed by him. In fact, he hasn't moved since he was placed atop his perch in 1931. Who is he? He's the Gabrielino Indian guide who sits, cupping his hands together, catching precious drops of water from the overspray of the electrified fountain in Beverly Hills, California.
The Indian Rain Prayer fountain, located at the intersection of Santa Monica and Wilshire Boulevards was the first electrically lit fountain constructed in Beverly Hills. Its $22,000 cost was funded by wealthy Beverly Hills citizens who wanted a focal point along the beautiful Beverly Gardens parkway that stretches from the East to West City limits. Today, the fountain provides something beautiful to watch while inching through the interminable gridlock of one of the Westside's busiest intersections. The fountain is lit with colored lights, and if you get caught at red light, you'll fortunately have enough time to watch the fountain cycle through most all of its different spray and illumination patterns.
Wilshire Boulevard was laid down over the path worn into the earth by the Gabrielino Indians as they passed to and from the coast to trade with other Indian tribes. I guess that's why he was chosen to sit high above the place where his people had moved along quietly, carrying baskets of fish and acorns through stands of oak and willow trees. These days, this Indian guide witnesses the incessant honking of horns, people waving with one finger, and the terrible wreckage that's created when man or cyclist and machine collide. I'm sure he has seen it all.
I'm always happy to see him presiding over the intersection. I like to think he's a guardian angel of sorts, who cups the precious life's blood of this great city in his hands and perhaps, bestows a little blessing on those of us who don't honk too much and who wave with all five fingers.
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