Among the delights of walking in Central Park are the many animal sculptures that seem to pop up everywhere. Many, including the monkey above, are the work of Frederick Roth, born in Brooklyn and the Sculptor of Central Park from 1934 to 1936. (Detail from the Sophie Loeb Fountain, see below.)
Perhaps Roth’s most visited work is Balto, just east of the Willowdell Arch near 67th Street on the East Side. (See our blog on Balto on this site). There are many other Roth statues.
Honey Bear. (known to many as Dancing Bear), is set in an alcove just east of the northern entrance to the Central Park Zoo, steps away from the Delacorte Clock.
Don’t miss the frogs at Honey Bear’s feet. In fact, look closely at any Roth statue for wonderful details.
Here are some more!
Mother Goose resides at the entrance to the Rumsey Playground, just west of the East Drive at 72nd Street.
The Sophie Loeb Fountain is at the center of a children’s water play area in the James Michael Levin playground near 77th Street and Fifth Avenue.
Frederick Roth’s works of art are just a few of the many sculptures to see in Central Park. If you’d like to learn more or personalize a tour, contact us! Brendan@NYCToursthenandnow.us
There are more than fifty statues in Central Park, but perhaps the most popular among young and old, is the statue of Balto, a Siberian marmaluke created by the renowned sculptor, Frederick G.R. Roth.
In the winter of 1925, there was a diphtheria outbreak in Nome, Alaska, and the nearest supply of serum was 674 miles away. Because of temperatures well below zero and blizzard conditions, delivery of the medicine by air was not possible. Instead, teams of dog sleds were assembled (twenty in all) to deliver the medicine. This was an around the clock mission, as the life-saving serum was passed from one team to the next along the route, their progress followed by newspapers around the country..
Balto was not supposed to be on the final leg of the journey, but his musher missed the roadhouse because of the whiteout conditions and he and his team ccontinued making him the lead dog on the team which delivered the serum to Nome. (Photo, NYPL Digital Collection).
After this heroic deed, the New York Times advocated that a statue be built in Balto’s honor and a group of dog lovers heard the story and raised the money for a statue. On December 16, 1925 the statue was unveiled and Balto attended the event, one of the few to ever attend a statue unveiling in his own honor., certainly in Central Park. (Photos above and below, NYPL Digital Collection.)
Balto died in 1933 and his body has been preserved and now resides in the Cleveland Museum of Natural History.
To learn more about Balto and other Central Park treasures, send an email to brendan@nyctoursthenandnow.us or message us here.
This year, the Jewish Festival of lights began at sundown on December 8th. Chanukah decorations are everywhere.
Giant dreidels on the sidewalks…
Menorahs of all sizes…
Even the Empire State building is lit up in blue.
Book a holiday lights tour, and we will make sure you see a wide selection of the seasonal decorations that New York City has to offer. Email brendan@nyctoursthenandnow.is or message us here for more information
One of the best places to visit in the north end of Central Park is the Conservatory Garden. Its flowers, trees and fountains are beautiful at any time of year.
But, as you enter from Fifth Avenue, don’t miss one of the truly unique features of the Conservatory Garden —the Vanderbilt Gates.
Forged in Paris, these gates are among the few remnants of the mansion built by Cornelius Vanderbilt–the fabulously wealthy New York City native who was worth $100 million when he died (over 2 billion today).
The 58th Street side of the Vanderbilt mansion, showing the gates. (NYPL Digital Collection, Colorized by Kenneth Hicks.)
The mansion, thought by some to be the finest in New York City, had four floors, 130 rooms, and took up an entire city block between 57th and 58th Streets, where Bergdorf Goodman stands today. In 1926, less than fifty years after it was built, Cornelius Vanderbilt’s wife, Alice Vanderbilt, sold the mansion for 7 million dollars and it was demolished within a week.
The gates were preserved and later donated to the city by Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney. The Conservatory Garden opened in 1937 and the gates were installed two years later in 1939.
Take a tour with us and learn more about the Conservatory Garden, the Vanderbilt Gates, and the north end of Central Park.
Of the thirty-six iconic bridges in Central Park, the most well-known is the Bow Bridge, so named because of its graceful curves akin to an archer’s bow.
Its popularity is enhanced because, from its curving walkway, it is possible to have views of the skylines of both Fifth Avenue and Central Park West. Post wedding photo shoots are a regular occurrence.
Looking east from the Bow Bridge toward Fifth Avenue.
Looking west from Bow Bridge toward Central Park West.
Of course, it is stunning from many vantage points, and has been a backdrop in many movies, including Enchanted, Spiderman 3, and Night at The Museum.
When the Bow Bridge was first completed in 1862, it had eight cast iron urns, four on each side. At some point during the 1920’s, the urns were stolen, and, for whatever reason, they were forgotten and not replaced. In 2008, the bridge underwent a major restoration, and historians studied old photographs of the bridge and discovered the urns that were originally on the bridge.
Replicas were created and returned to the spots they once occupied.
Replica urn, replacing those stolen years ago.
Let’s fervently hope that the urns remain just where they were intended to rest, and the the views of the Bow Bridge will continue to captivate visitors for a long, long time.
To learn more about Bow Bridge and other parts of Central Park, come take a tour with us!
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.
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.
Bowling Green Parks was created in 1733, while New York was still a colony, and is the oldest park in New York City. Since New York was first founded, however, this plot of land has been the focus of its citizens and has been used for markets, as a parade ground, and for Mayday celebrations. In 1765, it was the center of protests against the Stamp Act. An effigy of Lieutenant-Governor Golden was burned on this spot, along with his carriage. When the Act was repealed a year later, the grateful citizens asked that a state of King George III be erected here, and a gilded lead statue soon occupied a placer of honor.
However, deteriorating relations with England caused the statue and the park to again become the site for regular protests. On July 9, 1776, George Washington read the Declaration of Independence aloud to his troops in what is now City Hall Park, and an angry mob of patriots proceeded down to Bowling Green Park and began to riot. The statue of king George was soon toppled, and the mob chopped off his hard and marched triumphantly through the streets
German version of the destruction of the statue of King George III dated circa 1776. Apparently, the artist had never visited New York City. Note the German and French captions. The action of the American mob was of interest around the world.
Parts of the statue were melted down and used as bullets by George Washington’s army during the Revolutionary War. There are still several pieces which remain and are on display at the New York Historical Society. In addition, each of the spikes on the fence at one time was adorned with a miniature crown, representing the King of England.
Bowling Green around 1839. Note the series of mansions that line Broadway..
When the mob converged on the park on July 9, 1776, those crowns were sawed off. If you are ever in lower Manhattan and visit Bowling Green Park, you will see that the spikes on the fence are of varying heights. This is because you are looking at the original fence, first erected in 1771, both a witness and a monument to revolutionary fervor.
Bowling Green in 1861. Note the carriages lined up on the south side.
Bowling Green around 1910. Trinity Church in the distance up Broadway.
Bowling Green today. Copyright Brendan Rothman-Hicks 2023)
Take a tour with NYC Tours Then and Now and we will show you all of the best places to visit in New York City, including Bowling Green, and teach you a bit of history at the same time.
(All photos, except as marked, are courtesy of the NYPL Digital Collection. Some have been reformatted and colorized by the authors.)
