CHICAGO (CBS) ― An effort to pay tribute to the Chicago Blackhawks at Daley Plaza fell short of the mark on Friday. Engineers added red dye to the fountain at Daley Plaza in honor of the Blackhawks, but instead of red water, they ended up with hot pink.
Workers tried to fix the problem, but eventually drained the fountain completely. Officials said they would try again Monday or Tuesday.
The pink water led to a bit of confusion among Daley Plaza visitors Friday morning.
Karen, who was visiting Daley Plaza with her two daughters, said, "I think it's beautiful. I think it was supposed to be red, but they didn't turn out so well, but it's still pretty."
She said she assumed the fountain was supposed to be red for Croatian-American Day. A Croatian Flag was also flying at Daley Plaza and a Croatian-American festival was being held Friday afternoon.
But the fountain was supposed to be red to honor the Blackhawks' playoff run.
"That's okay. They tried. It's alright. It's nothing to get mad over, it's still pretty," Karen said.
Richard Streetman stopped by Daley Plaza on his lunch break and he also thought the fountain was supposed to be part of the Croatian-American Day festivities.
"It's really cool. I just came out for lunch and the water's, I think it's supposed to be red for Croatian Day, but it's coming out pink. Apparently red doesn't work well," Streetman said. Told the fountain was supposed to honor the Blackhawks, "I think that the Blackhawks probably would prefer red, but color doesn't work out that way with the sun, apparently."
Another visitor, Annette, said she thought at first the fountain was pink for breast cancer awareness.
"I think this is gorgeous, beautiful. I've never seen it pink. It's been six years since I've been here and I've never seen it these colors and I think it's just wonderful," she said.
When told the fountain was supposed to be red, she said, "I think they missed their mark," but she said they should keep it pink. "It makes a big difference. I don't think the red would have made the same impact."
A spokesman for MB Real Estate, which operates the Daley Plaza fountain, said engineers are aware the fountain was hot pink and had been working to fix the issue Friday afternoon.
Shortly before noon, the fountain's spouts were shut off, leaving only a pool of hot pink to very bright red water as engineers worked on a solution.
The spouts were turned back on at about 2:10 p.m., after engineers had apparently added more red dye to the water and the water in the pool had changed to an orange-red shade, while the water spraying from the spouts was still pink.
By 6 p.m., the fountain had been emptied completely and workers were using power washers to clean off the stone surface. Officials said they would try to dye the fountain again on Monday or Tuesday after they work on a new dye mix.
The Blackhawks are scheduled to begin the Western Conference Finals of the 2010 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs against the San Jose Sharks on Sunday at 2 p.m. in San Jose.
Daley Plaza already had another tribute to the Blackhawks before the fountain was dyed. The city placed a Blackhawks helmet on the Picasso statue, complete with the number "10" to honor the team's 2010 playoff appearance.
But at certain angles in the sunlight, the "09" from last year's playoff run is still visible on the helmet; apparently whoever repainted it couldn't completely match the paint when covering the old number. So a shadow of "09" is still visible under the new "10" on the helmet when viewed from certain angles.
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