Free previewStop 4 of Central Park Walking Tour: The Pond to Belvedere Castle
An Angel Who Celebrates Clean Water
You've reached the end of the Mall, at the top of Bethesda Terrace. Below you, two grand staircases fold down to a wide brick plaza, and beyond it lies the Lake. In the middle of that plaza stands a bronze angel with her wings spread, touching down on top of a fountain. Keep your eyes on her. She was made by a woman New York had never trusted with a job like this.
The woman was Emma Stebbins, a sculptor from a well-connected New York family. In the 1860s, while the Civil War was still being fought, workers here were cutting and setting the warm, mustard-colored sandstone around you. The park's commissioners then went looking for a sculptor for the fountain. They chose Stebbins. She became the first woman to receive a public commission for a major work of art in New York City.
That's the opening. The rest plays at stop 4 of Central Park Walking Tour: The Pond to Belvedere Castle (3 min in all). Unlock the tour to hear it all, or try stop 1 free first.
