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Conservatory Water
The location owes its name to the large glass house intended for the exhibition of tropical plants specified in the guidelines of the 1857 design competition for Central Park. The Greensward Plan, the winning entry submitted by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux, proposed a conservatory and ornamental flower beds at this location. Due to lack of funding, the conservatory was never built, and the area configured as a floral parterre was turned into an ornamental pond. The model boat ponds of Paris were the inspiration for the design; model boat racing soon became a popular activity, so much so that Conservatory Water is more familiarly known as the Model Boat Pond. Author E.B. White made it the setting for a memorable race in his much-loved children's book Stuart Little. Visitors can watch a radio-powered racing regatta between members of the Model Yacht Club; they can also rent a miniature boat from a nearby concessionaire.The Kerbs Memorial Boathouse (built in 1954) houses a caf? and a storage facility for model boats. In front of the boathouse is a handsome flagstone patio with benches and tables and colorful flower beds. The landscape surrounding Conservatory Water is notable in its own right. Hundreds of visitors enjoy sledding down Pilgrim Hill (named for the bronze sculpture on its crest) as well as ice skating on the Pond, weather permitting. Horticulturists will spot a columnar European hornbeam and three crepe myrtle trees here, as well as seven species of oak. At the southern end of Conservatory Water are springtime billows of Yoshino cherries. Birders flock to the area to watch for the famous red-tailed hawks -- Pale Male and Lola -- who have set up housekeeping on a Fifth Avenue apartment ledge. |
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- Central Park
- Central Park
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