The street was first called Archer Street. An artesian well at First and Santa Clara streets overflowed so much that the street was turned into a drainage ditch and renamed Fountain Street; locals called the narrow lane Fountain Alley, and the name stuck.
Questions people ask
Why is it called Fountain Alley?
For an overflowing artesian well at First and Santa Clara streets.
What was it called before?
Archer Street, after Lawrence Archer.