Bethesda Terrace

Welcome to the heart of Central Park! It is considered its signature feature by the Greensward plan.
Although nature is considered the soul and the park by Olmsted and Vaux – Nature first, second, and third – architecture after a while" and still wanted to create a man-made attraction that is to be the centerpiece, so they decided it to be the Bethesda Terrace.

The Terrace is scribed with topics such as nature, art, science, and more! There is a more interesting and a bit hidden place called the Arcade. It is under the Terrace and was conceived as a space to shelter visitors from heat and rain. The place is popular amongst singers and musicians due to its amazing acoustics.

Bethesda Terrace was created in the 1860s and features 49 panels with nearly 16.000 hand-made and patterned tiles. They were created by the famous English craftsmen of Minton and Company. A fun fact is that they are used for the ceiling, not the floor. Its extraordinary weight has caused some problems during the ages. In 1983 The Conservancy removed the tiles due to their damage, and until it was able to secure the funding required for the repairs. It was finished back in 2007, with more than 14.000 tiles repaired. Only three replica tiles were so badly damaged that required repairs.

The walls are covered by trompe l’oeil paintings. It means eye-deceiving in French. That makes the paintings seem realistic and three-dimensional.