Monthly Archives: June 2023

New York City Sites, New York City Tours, Uncategorized

Angel of the Waters, Bethesda Fountain

Bethesda Fountain is one of the most well-known and most-photographed locations in Central Park. 

Copyright Kenneth Hicks 2023.

The statue in the center of Bethesda Fountain is called Angel of the Waters, and was created by a female sculptor named Emma Stebbins in the late 1860s.  Ms. Stebbins was the first woman to be hired for a public art commission in the United States.   

Copyright Kenneth Hicks 2023.

It is also the only statue to be included in the original design plans for Central Park.    

Fanciful early portrayal of Bethesda Terrace and Fountain demonstrating central location. (Courtesy NYPL Digital Division).

Angel of the Waters celebrates the opening of the Croton Aqueduct in 1842, which brought a reliable source of clean drinking water to New York City for the first time. The name Bethesda refers to a pool of water in Jerusalem mentioned in the New Testament. 

Coutesy NYPL Digital Division.

The fountain has also been on screen on numerous occasions, including  Enchanted, Home Alone 2; Lost In New York, and the wedding scene in Gossip Girl. In the climactic scene Elf, Santa’s Sleigh actually bangs into Angel of the Waters.   

Schoolgirls visit Bethesda Terrace and the Fountain. (Courtesy, NYPL Digital Division).

Come book a Central Park tour with us and see it for yourself.  There is not end of the list of things to see and do.

New York City Sites, New York City Tours

Cleopatra’s Needle

Having been built almost 3,500 years ago, the obelisk called Cleopatra’s Needle is certainly the oldest monument in Central Park,.

It is also the most spectacular and a favorite subject for camera buffs throughout the year.

Originally, it was one of two obelisks that were carved from pink granite in Aswan, Egypt, and erected for Pharaoh Thutmose III outside the Temple of the Sun in Heliopolis, near Cairo today.  During the reign of Augustus Caesar, the Romans discovered the pair toppled and partly buried in sand, and moved them to Alexandria where they were erected in front of a temple dedicated to Julius Caesar. Since the temple was originally built by Cleopatra, many think that this is the reason the obelisk is now called Cleopatra’s Needle. 

Cleopatra’s Needle being moved from its site in Alexandria for its trip to New York City.

Shortly after the building of the Suez Canal, Cleopatra’s Needle was given to the United States. (Its twin was given to Great Britain and is in London today.) The effort to move Cleopatra’s Needle from Alexandria to New York City included special construction on the boat just to load the 220-ton Obelisk and a one-month journey at sea. 

It took another five months to move the Obelisk from its arrival dock on the Hudson River across town to its present location in Central Park in 1881. 

Beginning the long trip across town.

It was an immediate favorite attraction in Central Park, outside the Metropolitan Museum.

Sign up for our Central Park tour and learn more about the Obelisk and the rest of Central Park.