July 23rd, 2026 - Bethesda Fountain, the 153-year-old centerpiece of Central Park, will be shut off and closed to the public beginning in early August for about a year.
The restoration will replace aging pumps and mechanical systems, repair the cascading water feature, and recreate sculptural details lost to decades of weathering. Bethesda Terrace itself will stay open, so the arcade and Lake views remain accessible throughout construction.
The project is part of a broader Central Park Conservancy initiative that also includes a full reconstruction of Conservatory Water, the model-boat pond on the park's East Side, along with renovations to the adjacent Kerbs Boathouse starting in spring 2027. Both projects are expected to wrap by spring 2028.
Bethesda Fountain was dedicated in 1873 and designed by Emma Stebbins, the first woman to receive a public art commission in New York City. Her Angel of the Waters sculpture commemorates the 1842 opening of the Croton Aqueduct, which brought the city its first clean drinking water.
Read more from the TimeOut article, or learn about Bethesda Fountain.