A view from the Bethesda Terrace of the (dry) Bethesda Fountain in Central Park, New York City in the early spring sunshine of 1946. Many visitors are enjoying the facilities and there are many boats out on The Lake. Bethesda Terrace and Fountain form the northern end of the park. Bethesda Fountain is the central feature on the lower level of the terrace. The pool is dominated by a fountain sculpture designed by Emma Stebbins and unveiled in 1873 – a vintage 1940s photograph.
Image details
Contributor:
M&N / Alamy Stock PhotoImage ID:
2HE2CP3File size:
24.9 MB (817.4 KB Compressed download)Releases:
Model - no | Property - noDo I need a release?Dimensions:
3543 x 2460 px | 30 x 20.8 cm | 11.8 x 8.2 inches | 300dpiDate taken:
1946Location:
Central Park, New York City, USAMore information:
This image could have imperfections as it’s either historical or reportage.
A view from the Bethesda Terrace of the (dry) Bethesda Fountain in Central Park, New York City in the early spring sunshine of 1946. Many visitors are enjoying the facilities and there are many boats out on The Lake. Bethesda Terrace and Fountain form the northern end of the Central Park Mall. Bethesda Fountain is the central feature on the lower level of the terrace. The pool is dominated by a fountain sculpture designed by Emma Stebbins and unveiled in 1873. The bronze, eight-foot 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. Beneath her are four four-foot cherubs representing Temperance, Purity, Health, and Peace. Also called the Angel of the Waters, the statue refers to Healing the paralytic at Bethesda, a Bible story from the Gospel of John about an angel giving the Pool of Bethesda healing powers. Central Park is an urban park in New York City located between the Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan. It is the most visited urban park in the USA. Following proposals for a large park in Manhattan during the 1840s, it was approved in 1853 to cover 778 acres (315 ha). In 1857 landscape architects Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux won a design competition for the park with their ‘Greensward Plan’. Construction began the same year and the park was completed in 1876. After a period of decline in the early 20th century, New York City parks commissioner Robert Moses started a programme to clean up Central Park in the 1930s. The Central Park Conservancy was created in 1980 to combat further deterioration. This image is from an old Kodak colour transparency taken by an amateur photographer. It will look soft if used at too large a size – a vintage 1940s photograph.