Central Park (Bethesda Terrace Steps)

Fountains, Stairs, Statuary

Dimensions

Image Dimensions: 11.2 x 16.5 | 14.7 x 19.3 cm Japan tissue (printed ca. 1897-1900)
Support Dimensions: 19.8 x 25.3 | 22.2 x 29.1 cm Cream colored paper/White Linen secondary support

Associated Blog Posts:

Old New York Strong

The Central Park Conservancy considers Bethesda Terrace- “the heart of Central Park and is, by design, its singular formal feature. Overlooking the Lake, it stands at the end of the Park’s long, tree-lined promenade known as the Mall. A grand staircase descends into the subterranean Arcade, which offers a welcome respite from rain and heat.”

Shown here are the two flanking grand staircases for Bethesda Terrace, designed by park architects Calvert Vaux with sculptural details by Jacob Wrey Mould. American commercial photographer John S. Johnston (c.1839-1899) was known to have documented features in Central Park in 1893-94, albeit with people in his views, with this photograph appearing as a plate of four architectural studies of Central Park bridges in the 1896 volume The Engineering Magazine, Vol. 11. (“The Terrace”: p. 863)

The work was also published as “Terrace Steps, Central Park”- an offset color lithograph print souvenir inserted within the pages of The New York Recorder newspaper between 1891-96: see New York Public Library catalog ID (B-number): b17094307.