Central Park In Bronze

Location: 77th Street, east side

Artist/Designer: Frederick George Richard Roth  

Materials: Reinforced cast concrete, granite

Installation: 1936

Funding: City of New York

 

This fountain, inside the James Michael Levin Playground, was created to honor Sophie Loeb (1876-1929), a journalist, social worker, and tireless children’s advocate. She created the Child Welfare Board and fought for causes such as public baths, playgrounds, support for children in families as an alternative to institutional placement, and fireproofing of movie houses.

 

Sculptor Frederick Roth was commissioned to make this fountain, which originally stood between the Heckscher Playground and Heckscher Ballfields. When the playground was renovated in the 1980s, the fountain was moved to its present site. It was reconfigured as a water feature, delighting children with its cooling sprays.

 

Use of the Park’s playgrounds is restricted to children and their caregivers. Therefore, to inspect the fountain up close, you’ll need an escort age 12 or younger. Your reward will be the Park’s “other Alice” (created earlier than Jose de Creeft’s beloved Alice in Wonderland), surrounded by the Queen, the Duchess, the Cheshire Cat, the Gryphon, and the White Rabbit.