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Ancient Goddesses in New York

An Online Guide to Discovering the Sacred Feminine in
Museums, Temples, and Public Places

Goddess Fountains

 

You can find goddess fountains and water features across New York State. Here are two of Manhattan's favorite goddess fountains, and a beloved sacred female in the form of an angel. Even though they are surrounded by the sights and noises of the City, they provide a moment of tranquility.

 

 

The Goddess Fountain at The New York Public Library, 42nd Street

 

Photo: Laurie Sue Brockway/Goddess Communications

 
The Goddess Fountain Outside of the New York Public Library welcomes all who seek knowledge. There is a male counterpart on the other side, to balance the yin and yang.

The Pulitzer Fountain Featuring Goddess Pamona, at 59th Street

Photo: Laurie Sue Brockway/Goddess Communications
 
Newspaper publisher Joseph Pulitzer planned and designed this gorgeous goddess statue in the heart of Manhattan. He left $50,000 in his will to complete the building of the statue in 1916. She is located in Grand Army Plaza, at 59th Street, across from the Plaza Hotel. Her waters can be mesmerizing on a summer day.
 

The Divine Angel on the Bethesda Fountain in Central Park, 72nd Street Mid-Park

John Kellerman / Alamy Stock Photo

 
The Bethesda Fountain in Central Park is called Angel of the Waters. She was created by sculptor Emma Stebbins (1815-1882), the first woman to receive a commission for a major public work in New York City. It was dedicated in Central Park is 1873. At the dedication, the brochure quoted a verse from the Gospel of St. John 5:2-4: "Now there is at Jerusalem by the sheep market a pool, which is called…Bethesda…whoever then first after the troubling of the waters stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had."
 
"Stebbins' sculptural group depicts the biblical "Angel of Bethesda" resting on a base surrounded by four cherubs representing "health," "purity," "peace," and "temperance." This theme was considered a particularly appropriate symbol of the healthful benefits provided by the water from the Croton Aqueduct (opened in 1842), then stored in Central Park reservoirs." - NYC LGBT Historic Sites Project

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