Bethesda Terrace and Fountain

Bethesda Terrace and Fountain

Meron Ippolito Daniella Jimenez Caroline Schwab Meron Ippolito, Daniella Jimenez, Caroline Schwab “There's a spot in , the Bethesda Fountain, where if you sit there long enough, the entire city walks by.”

Matthew Perry as Alex Whitman, "Fools Rush In" (1997) The Vision ❖ and - Architects and landscape designers of Central Park

❖ Nature over architecture

❖ Envisioned path leading into a terrace overlooking the lake

❖ Jacob Wrey Mould- incorporated the decorated elements of the two level arcade with Romanesque arches

❖ Aim: a place of social gathering Construction (1858-1864)

“Greensward Plan” as it was initially designed by Vaux and Olmsted. The woman behind the fountain

Emma Stebbins, sister of Henry Stebbins, the president of the Central Park commission created the Angel of the Waters in the vision of love.

Previous to her creation of the Bethesda fountain, Stebbins had studied sculpture and fine art in Rome. Meaning behind The Angel of the Waters

Stebbins followed Olmsted and Vaux’s vision of a natural getaway filled with love and healing through symbolism, in the form of the fountain.

The cherubs beneath the angel represent temperance, peace, health, and purity. The name Bethesda, is a biblical allusion to the Bethesda healing pool in Jerusalem.

The fountain is said to honor the opening of the Croton Aqueduct, which provided the city with pure water. The Lily in the left hand of the Angel is symbol for that purity. ❖ The fountain stands twenty-six feet tall and is ninety-six feet wide.

❖ The angel itself, is eight feet tall.

❖ The Angel holds a Lily in her left hand.

❖ Four Cherubs stand beneath the angel ❖ Terrace was unveiled in 1863 and the fountain came a decade after. ❖ The creators considered the terrace and fountain “the heart of central park”.

Discussion

How does the tone of this monument vary from others? Works Cited

“Bethesda Fountain.” In Central Park, 1 Jan. 2018,

www.centralpark.com/things-to-do/attractions/bethesda-fountain/.

“Bethesda Terrace.” Central Park, centralpark.org/attractions/bethesda-terrace/.

Conservancy, Central Park. “Bethesda Terrace.” The Official Website of Central Park NYC,

www.centralparknyc.org/things-to-see-and-do/attractions/bethesda-terrace.html.

Curbed. “Unraveling the History of Central Park's Bethesda Fountain.” Curbed NY, Curbed NY,

16 July 2014, ny.curbed.com/2014/7/16/10074022/unraveling-the-history-of-central-parks-bethesda-fountain.