PHOTOS: Marietta Square fountain over the years

July 3, 2000: Valerie Stockett and Matt Riedel both from Baltimore, Maryland, enjoying a restful morning interlude near the popular fountain on the Marietta Square. They were in town for the holiday visiting Stockett's parents.

Credit: Andy Sharp

Credit: Andy Sharp

July 3, 2000: Valerie Stockett and Matt Riedel both from Baltimore, Maryland, enjoying a restful morning interlude near the popular fountain on the Marietta Square. They were in town for the holiday visiting Stockett's parents.

For the last three decades, the calming (or bathroom-scurry-inducing) sound of the fountain has presided over Marietta Square.

Sometimes drought and repairs have silenced the quiet aquatics, but the fountain remains the postcard symbol of the city.

Learn more:

What is Cobb County named for? (It has nothing to do with salad)

According to a 1985 newspaper story in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution archives, Harold Willingham, who served in the Georgia House, donated $35,000 to make the fountain a reality.

Below are some photos of the 3,000-pound, cast-iron icon from over the years.

April 27, 2014: Daughter and father Melissa and Ken Jones enjoy corn chowder and lobster and sauce by the fountain during the 21st Annual Taste of Marietta Celebration.

Credit: Chris Hunt

icon to expand image

Credit: Chris Hunt

Dec. 22, 2012: As the wind howled Friday night over Marietta Square, visitors awoke Saturday morning, Dec. 22, to a layer of ice and icicles near the fountain.

Credit: KELLY J. HUFF/SPECIAL

icon to expand image

Credit: KELLY J. HUFF/SPECIAL

From the early 2000s: Michelle Marbury of Acworth, in the pink shirt, plays with her 1-year-old daughter Imani, in the white shirt, on the Square in Marietta. She is joined by Jean Autry and her two granddaughters, 3-year-old Isabella Bowling (left) and 2-year-old Julia Bowling (right).

Credit: Parker C. Smith

icon to expand image

Credit: Parker C. Smith

May 13, 2010: Bella Simmons splashes in the renovated fountain with Daniel Horne, both 3-year-olds from Marietta. The fountain and Marietta Square had just undergone renovations and repairs.

Credit: Bob Andres

icon to expand image

Credit: Bob Andres

May 13, 2010: Members of the Powder Springs Senior Center took a field trip to the newly renovated Marietta Square.

Credit: Bob Andres

icon to expand image

Credit: Bob Andres

(Left to right) Ellia Kelso, 5, Dawson Hancock, age 5 (in tie-dye T-shirt), Hank Austin, 3 (behind Dawson) and Micah Hancock, 3, run around the fountain during a music performance.

Credit: Bob Andres

icon to expand image

Credit: Bob Andres

Sept. 14, 1998: Pigeons flock around the fountain at Glover Park on the Marietta Square.

Credit: ANDY SHARP

icon to expand image

Credit: ANDY SHARP

Sept. 6, 2010: Sadie Estes, 4, of Marietta, cools off in the Marietta Square fountain during the 24th Annual Art in the Park festival.

Credit: Bob Andres

icon to expand image

Credit: Bob Andres

Dec. 26. 2002: The fountain at Glover Park on the Marietta Square was almost completely frozen over.

Credit: Andy Sharp

icon to expand image

Credit: Andy Sharp

May 7, 2009: Two-year-old Emma Harding cools off by splashing her feet in the fountain during a free concert on Marietta Square.

Credit: Phil Skinner

icon to expand image

Credit: Phil Skinner

Oct. 4, 2007: The fountain at Marietta Square's Glover Park had been turned off due to water restrictions, which the city has done during drought conditions.

Credit: Andy Sharp

icon to expand image

Credit: Andy Sharp

Two-year-old Zachary Mullinax cools off by splashing his feet in the fountain.

Credit: PHIL SKINNER

icon to expand image

Credit: PHIL SKINNER

March 10, 2009: Remuijio Ortiz sandblasts the fountain in the middle of Marietta Square. Crews were stripping the new paint off to apply a new coat of epoxy primer and a coat of black epoxy paint with an antique finish.

Credit: Bob Andres

icon to expand image

Credit: Bob Andres

March 10, 2009: Remuijio Ortiz sandblasts the fountain in the middle of Marietta Square. Crews were stripping the new paint off to apply a new coat of epoxy primer and a coat of black epoxy paint with an antique finish.

Credit: Bob Andres

icon to expand image

Credit: Bob Andres

Jan. 7, 2004: City of Marietta employee Bob Keith tries to stay warm while cleaning Glover Park on the Marietta Square. The fountain sits frozen as the morning temperature in Marietta hovered around 19 degrees.

Credit: Andy Sharp

icon to expand image

Credit: Andy Sharp

Aug. 13, 2007: Pam Burel found a shady spot on Marietta Square to read during her lunch break. While it was hot, it wasn't nearly as hot as last week, and it was "too cold" inside, she said.

Credit: Bob Andres

icon to expand image

Credit: Bob Andres

July 4, 2009: Kit Waldrep, 3, of Smyrna eats a corn dog while cooling her feet in the fountain after watching the Marietta Freedom Parade.

Credit: Johnny Crawford

icon to expand image

Credit: Johnny Crawford

July 17, 2006: The heat in metro Atlanta was at times stifling, but Michelle Lester, 33, right, and her daughter Chrissy, 12, found the cool waters of the fountain at Marietta's Glover Park just the thing to help with the problem.

Credit: Andy Sharp

icon to expand image

Credit: Andy Sharp

Aug. 24, 2001: Enjoying an evening in the park, 5-year-old Brie Withrow, center, plays in the fountain at Marietta Square with her little sister, Paige Withrow, right, before a musical performance.

Credit: JENNI GIRTMAN

icon to expand image

Credit: JENNI GIRTMAN

Nov. 10, 2009: Contractor Dan Spinney removes the damaged primer from the Marietta Square fountain. The fountain is being "re-refurbished." It had rained the day after the paint job the previous year, which damaged the primer.

Credit: Bob Andres

icon to expand image

Credit: Bob Andres

Check out this 360-degree look of a Marietta Square restaurant: