In a month marked by celebrating women and their contributions throughout history, there’s an unlikely place to look for a glimpse into the past: Central Park. The park is filled with plenty of monuments, many honoring women from their part in the women’s suffrage movement to their work in children’s rights. Next time you find yourself walking through Central Park as the weather warms up, don’t forget to stop, check out and learn from these monuments.
Burnett Fountain by Bessie Potter Vonnoh
Southern end of Conservatory Garden
The commute to 105th Street will undoubtedly be worth it as soon as you walk into Central Park’s secluded Conservatory Garden. Strolling through the stone paths that twist around this hidden garden, you’ll find the simple Burnett Fountain enclosed in its center. This monument was built as a memorial to Frances Hodgson Burnett, the children’s book author known for “The Secret Garden.” On one end of the fountain’s small pool is an oxidized bronze statue of two children — a little boy with a flute and a young girl standing beside him holding a small birdbath. These two figures reference Mary and Dickon, the two main characters in Burnett’s novel.
In the spirit of “The Secret Garden,” this space is isolated from the rest of the park, with the wintry leafless trees not taking away from its beauty. Built in 1936, a time when female authors were significantly overshadowed by their male counterparts and sometimes used male pseudonyms, this fountain generates appreciation for their hard work that often went unrecognized.
Women’s Rights Pioneers Monument by Meredith Bergmann
Mid-Park at 68th Street
This monument, the first in Central Park to depict real-life women, consists of three crucial figures of the Women’s Rights Movement: famed abolitionist Sojourner Truth and suffragettes Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Located on a pathway — at the southern section of The Mall and Literary Walk — sculptor Meredith Bergmann’s large, bronze monument depicts these women in the midst of discussion. Bergmann’s detailed creation, from the fringe on Truth’s shawl to the purse overflowing with paperwork on the floor beside them, truly brings these powerful women to life.
Sophie Loeb Fountain by Frederick Roth
East Side at 77th Street
Carved into the rectangular granite at the center of this fountain are characters from Lewis Carroll’s beloved children’s story, “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” — though the monument is a commemoration of journalist and social worker Sophie Irene Loeb. These characters speak to Loeb’s work as an advocate for child welfare, specifically as the founder and first president of the Child Welfare Committee of America. In 1920, she published the book “Everyman’s Child,” which demands that the government provide children with sufficient food and education. Engraved on the sides of this monument are words honoring her and her heart of gold as she fought for “a home for every child.”
Alice in Wonderland by José de Creeft
East Side at 75th Street, near Conservatory Water
A more obvious commemoration to the beloved childhood tale, this monument materializes characters from Carroll’s “Alice in Wonderland.” The giant sculpture is hard to miss if you’re walking the inner paths of the never-ending Central Park. The childhood icons that decorate this isolated statue memorialize publisher George Delacorte Jr.’s wife, Margarita Delacorte. She played a significant role in establishing her husband’s company, Dell Publishing, working as executive secretary and appearing in statements of ownership for the company. As a plaque dedicates this statue to his wife and her love for all children, this monument is one of the park’s most popular pieces honoring historical women.
Contact Eva Mundo at [email protected].
