Willowdell Arch

This sandstone-and-brick arch stands at the East Drive between the Mall and Fifth Avenue and leads visitors to the bronze statue of Balto, the celebrated Alaskan sled dog. It bears a striking resemblance to Driprock Arch, its counterpart at the Center Drive.

Willowdell features rusticated voussoirs, or wedge-shaped stones, and bench seating in the arcade walls of the underpass. A center niche once contained a fountain, meant to give mothers a place to sit and rest with their children. In 1862, Central Park’s key architects were photographed standing atop thei arch, against its cast-iron railing: Frederick Law Olmsted, Jacob Wrey Mould, Andrew H. Green, George E. Waring, Jr. and Ignaz A. Pilat.