D.C. is a town of monuments — and some of them are hiding in plain sight.
In this week’s edition of “Matt About Town,” WTOP’s Matt Kaufax decided to learn the fascinating, alcohol-infused backstory behind a lesser-known statue located in Penn Quarter: the Temperance Fountain.
The fountain, built in 1882, was designed to provide people living in the District with drinking water in an effort to get them to stop the consumption of alcohol. It was built during the Temperance Movement years before Prohibition but had the same overall message that booze is bad.
But that didn’t stop the people from cracking open some cold ones! And, as Matt found out, the drama behind this obscure monument ran deeper than a fight over beer and spirits.
