Grand Army Plaza Restoration

Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux recognized the southeast corner of Central Park as its principal entrance. Completed by 1860, it included a circular traffic island ringed with elm trees between 59th and 60th Streets, and a small semicircular green space in front of the Vanderbilt Mansion between 58th and 59th Street.

By the turn of the 20th century, sculptor Karl Bitter began advocating for a formal treatment of the site, evoking the Place de la Concorde in Paris as inspiration. In 1911, newspaper publisher Joseph Pulitzer died and bequeathed $50,000 to build a fountain at the southeast corner of the Park. The design competition that followed called for a broader vision of the plaza as a grand entrance, as Bitter had suggested.

The architectural firm of Carrère and Hastings won the plaza design competition by unanimous vote in 1912. Their concept called for two symmetrically designed islands separated by 59th Street: the north plaza, featuring the William Tecumseh Sherman monument, and the south plaza, featuring what would become known as the Pulitzer Fountain, with sculptor Bitter selected to craft its central female figure.

The south plaza was completed in 1916; the north, delayed by subway construction below, was not completed until 1921. The plaza and fountain underwent many repairs over the decades, with the last restoration completed in 1990.

A severe snowstorm in October 2011 destroyed every tree in the north plaza, requiring their removal and underscoring the need for a comprehensive renovation. The Conservancy reconstructed Grand Army Plaza North in 2015, and is now turning to the south side to complete the full restoration.

Scope of Work — Grand Army Plaza North (Completed 2015)

The reconstruction of the north plaza included:

• Restoring all pavements consistent with the historic design intent
• Regrading the site and removing a step into the central plaza to achieve ADA accessibility
• Planting a double row of London plane trees along the plaza perimeter and behind the Sherman monument, consistent with the original design
• Restoring lawns and planting an evergreen hedge border in the planting beds
• Upgrading storm drainage and irrigation infrastructure
• Replacing existing benches and lamps with fixtures more consistent with the plaza's original design

The Conservancy also performed a comprehensive conservation treatment of the Sherman monument.

Scope of Work — Grand Army Plaza South (Completed 2026)

Utility and Infrastructure Improvements

• Replace pedestrian lighting in-kind
• Install new drainage infrastructure
• Upgrade water supply for irrigation and fountain

Pavements

• Return to historic paving materials; return bluestone to historic dimensions and patterns
• Remove interior curbs and regrade paving for universal accessibility
• Replace or reset granite street curbs, as needed

Site Furnishings

• Recreate historic benches in granite
• Provide post-and-chain fencing at planting parterres

Planting

• Align trees to the configuration and species of the historic design, matching the plantings at Grand Army Plaza North
• Replace the existing single row of Callery pear trees with a double row of historically appropriate London plane trees, increasing the tree canopy
• Provide structural soil to optimize tree growth
• Restore evergreen hedges, lawn, and boxed topiary at parterres to match Grand Army Plaza North

Fountain

• Update fountain mechanical systems
• Reset, repoint, and clean granite elements, as required
• Construct a larger vault underneath Pulitzer Fountain to allow for increased maintenance access
• Conserve the Pomona statue