Bethesda Terrace and Fountain

Bethesda Terrace and Fountain are two architectural features overlooking the southern shore of the Lake in New York City's Central Park.

Only two major structures besides the Bethesda Terrace were completed during the Civil War: the Music Stand and the Casino restaurant, both demolished.

[5] 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.

[7] The original plans had called for marble and bronze figures to be installed on the upper level, but those were not executed.

[10] 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.

[14] 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.

[22][23] The mall, which runs from approximately 65th to 73rd Streets,[22] is the only formal feature in the park's original blueprint, the Greensward Plan.

[22][23] 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.

This portion consists of a flagstone plaza with stone parapets and plantings to the west and east, as well as Bethesda Fountain in the center.

[29] The 8-foot (2.4 m) 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.

[29] The lower basin has water lilies, lotus, and papyrus, inspired by an illustration in an 1891 book by Vaux's assistant and partner Samuel Parsons, the Superintendent of Planting in Central Park,[31] The base of the fountain was designed by Calvert Vaux, with sculptural details by Mould.