UCF pond primed for graduations
One of the biggest landmarks on University of Central Florida’s campus, the Reflecting Pond will be running again in time for spring graduations, which start May 3. The fountain was drained in October for repairs to damage from Hurricane Irma.
University of Central Florida graduates, get your cameras ready: The Reflecting Pond, drained in October for repairs, is to be running again in time for spring graduations, which start May 3.
Late last year, the school said the pond, a favorite backdrop for UCF graduates posing for portraits in their caps and gowns, would be closed for several months, partly because of damage from Hurricane Irma.
The repairs, which totaled about $1.1 million, are nearly complete. A construction fence around the pond will come down in the next couple of days, and workers will fill the basin with water and test the fountain by the middle of the week.
The pond is expected to be photo-ready by April 30.
Over the past several months, workers removed the concrete base of the pond, along with the fountain and lighting. They replaced the plumbing and filtration, changed the lighting to color-changing LEDs, added more efficient fountain pumps and poured a new concrete floor.
Once the site of a natural body of water that turned into a muddy pit after heavy rain, Charles Millican, the university’s first president, turned the eyesore into one of most recognizable landmarks of the campus. The Reflecting Pond was completed in 1970, about the same time neighboring Millican Hall opened.
Early on, the water was drained and replaced with chairs for graduation ceremonies, and President Richard Nixon delivered a commencement address there in 1973. Each fall, the pond plays host to Spirit Splash, a homecoming tradition where students rush into the pond and try to grab rubber ducks.