The Angel of the Waters sits atop the Bethesda Fountain located in the heart of Central Park. Under the Angel of the Waters is four cherubs representing Temperance, Purity, Health and Peace. The Angel carries a lily at her side in one hand while her other outstretched hand delivers a blessing on the water at her feet which pours into the fountain’s basin.
This Virtual requires that you physically visit the Bethesda Terrace and Fountain and message the answers to the 2 questions listed below. You should log your visit after sending your answers and I will let you know if there is an issue. Please be careful not to include any answers or spoiler pics in your log. The questions are:
- Go to the middle of the upper Terrace overlooking the Fountain and find the Bethesda Terrace Landscape plaque on the ground near the railing. Within 10 feet (3 meters) of the plaque is a Templar Cross that a vandal carved into the top of the railing. What year is carved under the cross? (OR if there is a performance happening and you cannot get to the railing, tell me what is on the plaque instead – but the railing carving is a lot more interesting).
- To the West of the fountain there is a sole bench at the start of the path (which leads to the beautiful Bow Bridge). This is the “Best Seat in New York.” Who is it for?
It’s not a requirement of this Virtual, but I suggest getting to the Bethesda Terrace and Fountain by walking up the Mall (or Promenade) that runs through Central Park from 66th to 72nd street. It starts with the Central Park Literary Walk and leads you to the Fountain located at the Mall’s Northern edge. The Mall is the only designed straight line in the Park and a New York City must-do for both locals and visitors. The Bethesda Terrace and Fountain area of Central Park is featured in many films and TV shows and is truly a special place - including for me and my wife because our spot is nearby. The story behind the Terrace, Fountain and the Angel of the Waters is also special and is summarized below if you’d like to learn more.
Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux designed the Mall that runs through Central Park from 66th to 72nd street as a naturalistic “open air hall of reception” that prepares visitors for the grandeur of the Bethesda Terrace and Fountain.
The Terrace was envisioned as the architectural heart and social hub of Central Park and overlooks the Lake and the shores of the Ramble, Central Park’s major woodland. The Terrace was among the first structures built in the Park. Construction started in 1859, continued during the Civil War and completed in 1863.
The split-level Terrace features elaborate balustrades and is adorned with intricate sculptures by Jacob Wrey Mould which depict nature, the seasons and the times of day. Two stone staircases lead from the upper level to the lower level plaza. The Arcade, an arched, interior walkway that passes under Terrace Drive, also links the Mall to the Terrace’s lower level. The Arcade’s ceiling is made up of 49 panels and features almost 16,000 elaborately patterned encaustic tiles that were handmade by the renowned Minton and Company. The Arcade is the only place in the world where these Minton tiles are used for a ceiling as they are originally created to cover floors.
The Bethesda Fountain located on the lower level is the breathtaking focal point of the Terrace. The Fountain is twenty-six feet high by ninety-six feet wide, making it one of the largest fountains in New York. At the center of the Fountain is the only sculpture commissioned as a part of Olmsted and Vaux’s original design. The sculpture is an eight-foot tall female winged bronze statute called Angel of the Waters.
Angel of the Waters was designed by Emma Stebbins, who was the first woman to receive a public commission for a major work of art in New York City and among the first notable American women sculptors. Stebbins was part of a group who learned to work in marble in Rome during the mid-1800s. That is where she met her partner Charlotte Cushman, the most famous English-language actress of the time. Stebbins' other works include the bronze statue of educator Horace Mann that was erected at the Massachusetts State House in 1865.
The Angel of the Waters' outstretched hand delivers a blessing on the water at her feet to commemorate the 1842 opening of the Croton Aqueduct which provided New York City with a clean, dependable water supply for the first time. Stebbins linked the fountain’s flowing water to the healing powers of a biblical pool. At the statute’s dedication she quoted John 5:2-4 providing "Now there is at Jerusalem by the sheep market a pool, which is called... Bethesda... whoever then first after the troubling of the waters stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had." Prior to the dedication, the Terrace was simply known as the Water Terrace, but after the unveiling of the Angel of the Waters the name was changed to Bethesda Terrace.
Virtual Reward - 2017/2018
This Virtual Cache is part of a limited release of Virtuals created between August 24, 2017 and August 24, 2018. Only 4,000 cache owners were given the opportunity to hide a Virtual Cache. Learn more about Virtual Rewards on the Geocaching Blog.