Outstanding in every way, Bethesda Terrace is the artistic culmination of the 1858“Greensward Plan,” that Olmsted and Vaux conceived of for Central Park.
This
architectural achievement defines the heart
of the Park as it seamlessly joins the Mall
with a Terrace overlooking the Lake and the
wooded Ramble beyond. It is built of New
Brunswick sandstone in a mixture of styles,
Romanesque, Gothic and Classical with
decorative elements designed by Mould.
His amazingly intricate carvings reflect upon
nature’s significance, as it features birds and
seasonal plants that appear along the stairways
and also on the Terrace’s main posts. On the
upper Terrace facing the Mall, he represented
symbolic carvings of daytime and nightfall
include, a crowing cock for day and a witch on
broom for night. This magnificent split-level
Terrace creates a heavenly atmosphere with its
upper terrace and grand stairways on either
side topped with flower filled stone vases that
descend to the grand walkway below. The floor
consists of red tile panels bordered with strips
of bluish granite, completely installed in 1910.
Many visitors stand on the Upper Terrace and
gaze out toward the famous Bethesda Fountain
at its center while the Lake and the shoreline
of the Ramble are in clear view.
As you descend the stairways, you can sit on
stone benches built into the lawn’s Terrace
walls and watch the tranquil drama of people
rowing, a wedding unfold or visitors taking
photos from every conceivable location. One
can access the lower level by the stairways,
or use one of the four paths that symmetrically
surround the area, yet the most traveled
walkway is from the Mall. At this point you will
come upon a wide flight of steps surrounded by
two elaborately carved sandstone posts.
As you descend beneath the Terrace Bridge and
the 72nd St. Drive you will arrive at the seven
arches of the Arcade, a columned passageway
with walls on either side in blind arcades adorned
with trompe l’oeil paintings. The large ceiling,
which is part of the original design of Central Park,
was first installed in 1867. Designed by Vaux and
Mould, it was initially covered with nearly 16,000
brilliant encaustic tiles, weighing about 50 tons
and handcrafted in Stoke-on-Trent, England made
by the Minton Company. In 1983, however, the
city repaved the road above the Terrace, and
water began leaking through the Arcade. The
structure holding the panels rusted, and so to
prevent the tiles from falling on omeone’s head
they have since been removed. To date, a sign
still states that the ceiling of Minton tiles is
currently undergoing restoration, yet year
after year it remains abandoned.
