Bethesda Terrace and Fountain are two architectural features overlooking the southern shore of
the Lake in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
's
Central Park
Central Park is an urban park in New York City located between the Upper West Side, Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan. It is the List of New York City parks, fifth-largest park in the city, covering . It is the most visited urban par ...
. The
fountain
A fountain, from the Latin "fons" (genitive "fontis"), meaning source or Spring (hydrology), spring, is a decorative reservoir used for discharging water. It is also a structure that jets water into the air for a decorative or dramatic effect. ...
, with its ''Angel of the Waters'' statue, is located in the center of the
terrace
Terrace may refer to:
Landforms and construction
* Fluvial terrace, a natural, flat surface that borders and lies above the floodplain of a stream or river
* Terrace, a street suffix
* Terrace, the portion of a lot between the public sidewalk a ...
.
Bethesda Terrace's two levels are united by two grand staircases and a lesser one that passes under Terrace Drive. They provide passage southward to the
Central Park Mall and
Naumburg Bandshell
The Central Park Mall is a pedestrian esplanade in Central Park, in Manhattan, New York City. The mall, leading to Bethesda Fountain, provides the only purely formal feature in the naturalistic original plan of Frederick Law Olmsted and Calve ...
at the center of the park. The upper terrace flanks the 72nd Street Cross Drive and the lower terrace provides a podium for viewing the Lake. The mustard-olive colored carved stone is
New Brunswick sandstone, with a harder stone for cappings, with granite steps and landings, and
herringbone pattern
The herringbone pattern is an arrangement of rectangles used for floor tilings and road pavement, so named for a fancied resemblance to the bones of a fish such as a herring.
The blocks can be rectangles or parallelograms. The block edge length ...
paving of
Roman brick
Roman brick can refer either to a type of brick used in Ancient Roman architecture and spread by the Romans to the lands they conquered; or to a modern type inspired by the ancient prototypes. In both cases, it characteristically has longer and f ...
laid on edge.
History
Construction
In
Calvert Vaux
Calvert Vaux (; December 20, 1824 – November 19, 1895) was an English-American architect and landscape designer, best known as the co-designer, along with his protégé and junior partner Frederick Law Olmsted, of what would become New York Ci ...
and
Frederick Law Olmsted
Frederick Law Olmsted (April 26, 1822August 28, 1903) was an American landscape architect, journalist, social critic, and public administrator. He is considered to be the father of landscape architecture in the USA. Olmsted was famous for co- ...
's 1858
Greensward Plan
Central Park is an urban park in New York City located between the Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan. It is the fifth-largest park in the city, covering . It is the most visited urban park in the United States, with an estimated 42 ...
, the terrace at the end of the Mall overlooking the naturalistic landscape of the Lake was simply called ''The Water Terrace'', but after the unveiling of the angel, its name was changed to ''Bethesda Terrace''.
Construction of the terrace and fountain occurred during the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
. Only two major structures besides the Bethesda Terrace were completed during the Civil War: the Music Stand and the
Casino
A casino is a facility for certain types of gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos are also known for hosting live entertai ...
restaurant, both demolished. By the end of 1861, work on Bethesda Terrace was well underway.
The stonework to be installed in the terrace arrived in 1862,
and the masonry of the fountain was installed by 1863.
In 1864, the stonework of Bethesda Terrace was completed except for minor details, and the Central Park commission hired a sculptor to design the figures for the Fountain.
The upper level of the Terrace was mostly built by 1867, by which time the Fountain's figures were being cast in bronze.
The original plans had called for marble and bronze figures to be installed on the upper level, but those were not executed. The Bethesda Fountain was officially completed in 1873.
Restoration
After being abandoned for years except used as a bicycle-rental spot, Bethesda Terrace became a site for ''The Fountain Cafe'', an outdoor luncheon restaurant between 1967 and 1974. It was closed in preparation of restoration work, which did not begin for several years.
During this time the site became a congregating spot for the
hippie
A hippie, also spelled hippy, especially in British English, is someone associated with the counterculture of the 1960s, originally a youth movement that began in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to different countries around ...
generation before devolving into a drug-trafficking venue in the 1970s.
Bethesda Fountain was completely dry by then.
By the early 1980s, the stonework had decayed or been damaged; the ceiling of the arcade was leaking; and frost and trees' roots had caused many of the floor surfaces to crack.
The fountain was restored in 1980-1981 by the
Central Park Conservancy
The Central Park Conservancy is a private, nonprofit park conservancy that manages Central Park under a contract with the City of New York and NYC Parks. The conservancy employs most maintenance and operations staff in the park. It effectivel ...
as the first part of its plan to renovate Central Park.
The terrace was restored in 1982, its stonework disassembled, cleaned, deteriorated surfaces removed, restored, patched, and reset. Resodding, and 50 new trees, 3,500 shrubs and 3,000 ground cover plants specified by Philip Winslow followed in 1986. Parts of the balustrade were removed for cleaning and restoration.
The
Mintons
Mintons was a major company in Staffordshire pottery, "Europe's leading ceramic factory during the Victorian era", an independent business from 1793 to 1968. It was a leader in ceramic design, working in a number of different ceramic bodies, ...
encaustic tile
Encaustic tiles are ceramic tiles in which the pattern or figure on the surface is not a product of the glaze but of different colors of clay. They are usually of two colours but a tile may be composed of as many as six. The pattern appears inla ...
s of the arcade ceiling were removed in the 1980s renovation because the
New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission
The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) is the New York City agency charged with administering the city's Landmarks Preservation Law. The LPC is responsible for protecting New York City's architecturally, historically, and cu ...
deemed the tiles too costly to restore. Instead, the Commission approved the commission of a ceiling mural in its place. Mayor
Ed Koch
Edward Irving Koch ( ; December 12, 1924February 1, 2013) was an American politician, lawyer, political commentator, film critic, and television personality. He served in the United States House of Representatives from 1969 to 1977 and was may ...
declared in June 1987 that the tiles would be restored. The tiles sat in storage for more than 20 years until the Conservancy received a private donation for their restoration. The Conservancy began restoring the tiles for $7 million in 2004, and the tiles were reinstalled in 2007.
[ Described some of the difficulties surmounted in carrying out this project.]
Bethesda Terrace
![Bethesda Fountain, Central Park, New York, USA-1Aug2010](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a0/Bethesda_Fountain%2C_Central_Park%2C_New_York%2C_USA-1Aug2010.jpg)
Bethesda Terrace and Fountain form the northern end of the
Central Park Mall. The mall, which runs from approximately 65th to 73rd Streets, is the only formal feature in the park's original blueprint, the
Greensward Plan
Central Park is an urban park in New York City located between the Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan. It is the fifth-largest park in the city, covering . It is the most visited urban park in the United States, with an estimated 42 ...
. Bethesda Terrace is divided into two levels: the upper level (corresponding to the Mall) and the lower level (corresponding to the fountain). The upper level carries a carriage road, which corresponds to
72nd Street. The carriage road, which forms part of the park drives' essential circulation pattern, is supported by a wrought-iron box-girder bridge, concealed beneath a stone cladding. The lower level, which faces
The Ramble and Lake
The Ramble and Lake are two geographic features of Central Park in Manhattan, New York City. Part of Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux's 1857 Greensward Plan for Central Park, the features are located on the west side of the park between ...
to the north, is known as the Esplanade. This portion consists of a
flagstone
Flagstone (flag) is a generic flat stone, sometimes cut in regular rectangular or square shape and usually used for paving slabs or walkways, patios, flooring, fences and roofing. It may be used for memorials, headstones, facades and other con ...
plaza with stone parapets and plantings to the west and east, as well as Bethesda Fountain in the center.
South of 72nd Street, a central stairway descends to an
arcade
Arcade most often refers to:
* Arcade game, a coin-operated game machine
** Arcade cabinet, housing which holds an arcade game's hardware
** Arcade system board, a standardized printed circuit board
* Amusement arcade, a place with arcade games
* ...
underneath the street. The ceiling of the arcade has Minton encaustic tiles designed by Mould. There are 14,000 such tiles; most of them are part of the original design, but three panels of replacement tiles were installed during the 2000s renovation.
[: "materials science, chemical testing, historical research, and attentive site supervision contributed to the successful rehabilitation of Bethesda Terrace".][ When the park opened, one observer referred to the arcade as a "large and delightfully cool hall".
North of the street, a pair of stairs descends two flights to the lower plaza. The stairs contain stone balustrades with carvings of birds and plants. ]Jacob Wrey Mould
Jacob Wrey Mould (7 August 1825 – 14 June 1886) was a British architect, illustrator, linguist and musician, noted for his contributions to the design and construction of New York City's Central Park. He was "instrumental" in bringing the Brit ...
designed the balustrades' sculptural details. The decorations largely contain motifs representing the seasons, similar to illustrations in classical illuminated manuscript
An illuminated manuscript is a formally prepared document where the text is often supplemented with flourishes such as borders and miniature illustrations. Often used in the Roman Catholic Church for prayers, liturgical services and psalms, the ...
s. These include lambs' heads representing spring; butterflies and berries for summer; holly leaves, pine boughs, pine cones, and birds for fall; and firewood for winter. Other motifs were also used in the balustrades, including ice skates, signifying winter; a rooster, signifying longer days in the spring and summer; and a witch on a broomstick, signifying Halloween. At the tops of the stairs, the balustrade on 72nd Street contains a scroll motif with birds and flowering plants.
Bethesda Fountain
Bethesda Fountain is the central feature on the lower level of the terrace. The pool is centered by a fountain sculpture designed by Emma Stebbins
Emma Stebbins (1 September 1815 - 25 October 1882) was an American sculptor and the first woman to receive a public art commission from New York City. She was best known for her work ''Angel of the Waters (1873)'', also known as Bethesda Fountain ...
in 1868 and unveiled in 1873. Also called the ''Angel of the Waters'', the statue refers to Healing the paralytic at Bethesda
The Healing of a paralytic at Pool of Bethesda, Bethesda is one of the miraculous healings miracles of Jesus in the Gospels, attributed to Jesus in the New Testament.
This event is recounted only in the Gospel of John, which says that it took pla ...
, a story from the Gospel of John
The Gospel of John ( grc, Εὐαγγέλιον κατὰ Ἰωάννην, translit=Euangélion katà Iōánnēn) is the fourth of the four canonical gospels. It contains a highly schematic account of the ministry of Jesus, with seven "sig ...
about an angel blessing the Pool of Bethesda
The Pool of Bethesda is a pool in Jerusalem known from the New Testament account of Jesus miraculously healing a paralysed man, from the fifth chapter of the Gospel of John, where it is described as being near the Sheep Gate, surrounded by fi ...
, giving it healing powers. It was the only statue funded by the city in the original design for the park. Stebbins was the first woman to receive a public commission for a major work of art in New York City.
The bronze statue depicts a female winged angel touching down upon the top of the fountain, where water spouts and cascades into an upper basin and into the surrounding pool. Beneath her are four four-foot cherub
A cherub (; plural cherubim; he, כְּרוּב ''kərūḇ'', pl. ''kərūḇīm'', likely borrowed from a derived form of akk, 𒅗𒊏𒁍 ''karabu'' "to bless" such as ''karibu'', "one who blesses", a name for the lamassu) is one of the u ...
s representing temperance
Temperance may refer to:
Moderation
*Temperance movement, movement to reduce the amount of alcohol consumed
*Temperance (virtue), habitual moderation in the indulgence of a natural appetite or passion
Culture
*Temperance (group), Canadian danc ...
, purity
Purity may refer to:
Books
* ''Pureza'' (novel), a 1937 Brazilian novel by José Lins do Rego
* ''Purity'' (novel), a 2015 novel by Jonathan Franzen
** ''Purity'' (TV series), a TV series based on the novel
*''Purity'', a 2012 novel by Jackson P ...
, health
Health, according to the World Health Organization, is "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity".World Health Organization. (2006)''Constitution of the World Health Organiza ...
, and peace
Peace is a concept of societal friendship and harmony in the absence of hostility and violence. In a social sense, peace is commonly used to mean a lack of conflict (such as war) and freedom from fear of violence between individuals or groups. ...
. The statue alludes to the Croton Aqueduct
The Croton Aqueduct or Old Croton Aqueduct was a large and complex water distribution system constructed for New York City between 1837 and 1842. The great aqueducts, which were among the first in the United States, carried water by gravity from ...
, the first pure-water aqueduct in New York City, which opened in 1842 on the site of Central Park. The angel carries a lily
''Lilium'' () is a genus of Herbaceous plant, herbaceous flowering plants growing from bulbs, all with large prominent flowers. They are the true lilies. Lilies are a group of flowering plants which are important in culture and literature in mu ...
in one hand, representing purity, and with the other hand she blesses the water below. The lower basin has water lilies
''Water Lilies'' (or ''Nymphéas'', ) is a Serial imagery, series of approximately 250 oil paintings by French Impressionism, Impressionist Claude Monet (1840–1926). The paintings depict his Fondation Monet in Giverny, flower garden at Fond ...
, lotus, and papyrus
Papyrus ( ) is a material similar to thick paper that was used in ancient times as a writing surface. It was made from the pith of the papyrus plant, '' Cyperus papyrus'', a wetland sedge. ''Papyrus'' (plural: ''papyri'') can also refer to a ...
, inspired by an illustration in an 1891 book by Vaux's assistant and partner Samuel Parsons
Samuel Bowne Parsons Jr. (8 February 1844 – 3 February 1923), was an American landscape architect. He is remembered as being a founder of the American Society of Landscape Architects, helping to establish the profession.
Early years
Parsons wa ...
, the Superintendent of Planting in Central Park,
The base of the fountain was designed by Calvert Vaux, with sculptural details by Mould. The panels of carving in the abstracted organic style propounded by Owen Jones
Owen Jones (born 8 August 1984) is a British newspaper columnist, political commentator, journalist, author, and left-wing activist. He writes a column for ''The Guardian'' and contributes to the ''New Statesman'' and ''Tribune.'' He has two w ...
, a mentor of the sculptor Jacob Wrey Mould are organized by an iconographical program of themes: the Seasons, the Times of Day, the Ages of Mankind.[''Commissioners of the Central Park Reports'' (]New-York Historical Society
The New-York Historical Society is an American history museum and library in New York City, along Central Park West between 76th and 77th Streets, on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The society was founded in 1804 as New York's first museum. ...
), noted in .
Gallery
File:Bethesda Terrace at Sunset (21574066483).jpg, Lower Passage
File:Annual report of the Board of Commissioners of the Central Park (1858) (18407508186).jpg, 1858 rendering
File:Bethesda Fountain - Central Park - NY - USA - agosto 2011.jpg, View of the fountain from the terrace
File:Bethesda Terrace in the time of pandemic.jpg, During the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City
The first case of the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City was confirmed on March 1, 2020, though later research showed that the novel coronavirus had been circulating in New York City since January, with cases of community transmission confirme ...
See also
* History of fountains in the United States
References
Citations
Sources
*
*
*
*
External links
of the Waters'' Fountain
at Central Park's official website
{{Public art in Manhattan
Allegorical sculptures in New York City
Bronze sculptures in Manhattan
Central Park
Fountains in New York City
Outdoor sculptures in Manhattan
Plants in art
Sculptures of angels
Sculptures of women in New York City
Statues in New York City