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'{{Short description|Fountain and sculpture in Manhattan, New York, U.S.}} {{Infobox artwork | title = Pulitzer Fountain | image_file = Grand Army Plaza, NYC (2014) - 2.JPG | caption = The fountain and statue in 2014 | image_size = | alt = | other_language_1 = | other_title_1 = | other_language_2 = | other_title_2 = | artist = {{Flatlist| * [[Karl Bitter]] (sculptor) * [[Thomas Hastings (architect)|Thomas Hastings]] (architect) }} | catalogue = | year = {{start date|1916}} | type = {{Flatlist| * Fountain * sculpture }} | material = {{Flatlist| * Bronze * marble }} | subject = [[Pomona (mythology)|Pomona]] | height_metric = | width_metric = | length_metric = | height_imperial = 22 | width_imperial = | length_imperial = | diameter_metric = | diameter_imperial = | dimensions = | dimensions_ref = | metric_unit = m<!--don't leave blank—either don't include it, or include the default cm. --> | imperial_unit = ft<!--don't leave blank—either don't include it, or include the default in. --> | condition = | city = New York City, New York, United States | museum = | accession = | mapframe = yes | mapframe-zoom = 13 | coordinates = {{coord|40.76403|-73.97361|type:landmark_globe:earth_region:US-NY|display=inline,title}} | owner = | url = <!--{{URL|example.com}} Only for official web pages--> }} '''''Pulitzer Fountain''''' is an outdoor fountain located in [[Manhattan]]'s [[Grand Army Plaza (Manhattan)|Grand Army Plaza]] in New York. The fountain is named after newspaper publisher [[Joseph Pulitzer]] who died in 1911 having bequeathed $50,000 for the creation of the fountain. Pulitzer intended his fountain to be "like those in the [[Fontaines de la Concorde|Place de la Concorde]], Paris, France."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.neighborhoodpreservationcenter.org/db/bb_files/GRAND-ARMY-PLAZA-NY.pdf |author=Landmark Preservation Commission |date=23 July 1974 |access-date=12 March 2012 |work=NYC Landmark Designation Reports |title=LP-0860}}</ref> The fountain was designed by the architect [[Thomas Hastings (architect)|Thomas Hastings]], and crowned by a statue conceived by the sculptor [[Karl Bitter]].<ref>Ferdinand Schevill, ''Karl Bitter, a Biography'' (Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 1917), pages 65-67.</ref> The fountain was dedicated in May 1916. ==History== ===Initial design and construction=== [[File:PomonaStatueFountain.jpg|thumb|Designed in 1913 by Karl Bitter, this Pomona statue represents abundance. In the background is the [[Plaza Hotel]].]] [[File:"PULITZER MEMORIAL FOUNTAIN" map in 1916, from- Bromley Manhattan Plate 083 publ. 1916 (cropped).jpg|thumb|Fountain map in 1916]] In December 1912, the executors of the estate of Joseph Pulitzer announced that New York City had approved the fountain's proposed location, in the plaza between 58th Street and 60th Street, just west of Fifth Avenue, the same plaza where the equestrian [[William Tecumseh Sherman (Saint-Gaudens)|Sherman Monument]] stood since 1903. The executors invited five architecture firms to participate in a competition to determine the fountain's design, and to provide designs for a "good architectural treatment of the whole plaza."<ref>''The New York Times'', December 22, 1912.</ref> In January 1913, the five schemes were exhibited at the [[New York Public Library Main Branch|New York Public Library]], including the winning scheme, designed by [[Carrère and Hastings]]. Architect Thomas Hastings' design placed the fountain in the southern half of the plaza, whereas the [[William Tecumseh Sherman (Saint-Gaudens)|Sherman Monument]] remained in the northern half (but moved fifteen feet west to be symmetrically opposite the fountain). Hastings' design for the fountain included a "symbolical figure-the exact symbolism not yet having been decided upon."<ref>''The New York Times'', January 21, 1913.</ref> Construction began in 1915, and by November, a newspaper reported: "The Pulitzer Fountain...is now finished and bubbling with the purest Croton water," noting that work on the northern portion of the plaza was delayed by subway construction.<ref>''Chicago Daily Tribune'', November 7, 1915.</ref> In the executed design, [[Karl Bitter|Karl Bitter']]<nowiki/>s allegorical [[Bronze sculpture|bronze]] statue ''Pomona'' depicts the [[Pomona (mythology)|goddess of abundance]] holding a basket of fruit. The model was [[Doris Doscher]]. Because Bitter died on April 9, 1915, having just completed the plaster cast of the figure,<ref>Ferdinand Schevill, ''Karl Bitter, a Biography'' (Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 1917), pages 65-67</ref> Hastings and Bitter's widow selected [[Isidore Konti]] to complete the statue.<ref>''The Sculpture of Isidore Konti, 1862-1938'' (Yonkers, NY: Hudson River Museum, 1974), pages 63-64.</ref> Konti began work in the fall of 1915, and the statue was cast in April 1916.<ref>''The Sculpture of Isidore Konti, 1862-1938'' (Yonkers, NY: Hudson River Museum, 1974), pages 63-64.</ref> The statue was installed on (or about) May 1, 1916, "with little or no ceremony."<ref>''Philadelphia Inquirer'', August 13, 1916, page 23.</ref> ===1933–1935 restoration=== In 1933, Herbert, Joseph and Ralph, sons of [[Joseph Pulitzer]], donated $35,000 for the restoration of the fountain, to be done under the supervision of architect [[Dan Everett Waid]]. The work, delayed by labor troubles, was completed by June 1935.<ref>''The New York Times'', June 14, 1935.</ref> As part of the work, the limestone basin was rebuilt in Italian marble, and the limestone balustrade and columns that surrounded the fountain were demolished.<ref>''The New York Times'', May 8, 1935.</ref> === 1971 restoration and 1974 Landmarks Designation === In 1971, the Parks Department under the direction of [[August Heckscher II|August Heckscher]], undertook a restoration of the fountain costing $268,000. The work included a new sewer system and the replacement of limestone steps with granite.<ref>''The New York Times'', August 5, 1971.</ref> On May 30, 1974, the [[New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission|Landmarks Preservation Commission]] held a public hearing to consider designation of the [[Grand Army Plaza (Manhattan)|Grand Army Plaza]], including the Pulitzer Fountain, as a Scenic Landmark. The measure was approved on July 23, 1974. <ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.neighborhoodpreservationcenter.org/db/bb_files/GRAND-ARMY-PLAZA-NY.pdf |author=Landmark Preservation Commission |date=23 July 1974 |access-date=12 March 2012 |work=NYC Landmark Designation Reports |title=LP-0860}}</ref> ===1985–1990 restoration=== On March 26, 1985, the [[Central Park Conservancy]] and the architecture firm of [[Buttrick White & Burtis]] presented plans to the [[New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission|Landmarks Preservation Commission]] for a full restoration of the plaza, including the Pulitzer Fountain. The plans called for the restoration of the balustrade and columns removed in the 1935 repairs.<ref>''The New York Times'', March 27, 1985</ref> The work was completed in June 1990, including a reconstruction of the fountain, this time in granite. Plans to restore the balustrade and columns were abandoned on account of costs. According to [[The New York Times]]: "For years this fountain merely dripped and dribbled, but now it cascades, and that makes all the difference, for now the Pulitzer Fountain has a sound."<ref>''The New York Times'', June 28, 1990</ref> Most of the cost of the 1990 renovation was paid for by the Grand Army Plaza/Pulitzer Fountain partnership, a not-for-profit fund created by adjacent businesses and property owners. The fund made news in 2016 with the revelation that Donald Trump's charitable foundation had donated $264,000, its largest bequest ever, to the 1990 renovation. The bequest raised some eyebrows because the work indirectly benefited Trump's Plaza Hotel which stood across the street from the fountain.<ref>[https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-foundations-biggest-donation-went-to-fountain-outside-his-hotel-2016-10 The Trump Foundation's biggest donation was to refurbish a fountain outside his own hotel, Business Insider, 31 Oct 2016]</ref> ==Gallery== <gallery widths="200px" heights="200px"> File:New York City. Plan for Entrance to Central Park (3678964534).jpg|1863 design showing a proposed fountain (before the plaza was extended south to 58th Street). File:1868 Vaux ^ Olmstead Map of Central Park, New York City - Geographicus - CentralPark-CentralPark-1869 (Cropped & Rotated).jpg|1868 Map of Central Park includes the future site of the fountain. File:1869 Knapp Map of the Southeast Corner of Central Park (Grand Army Plaza) New York City - Geographicus - CentralParkSW-centralpark-1869.jpg|1869 map of the plaza, showing a site for a monument where the fountain was eventually built. File:Grand Army Plaza 1913 Design.jpg|Thomas Hasting's 1913 plan for the plaza, showing the Pulitzer Fountain in the southern (lower) half. File:Schevill Karl Bitter unfinished figure.jpg|Karl Bitter's plaster 'sketch' of Pomona, 1915. File:Pomona.jpg|Pomona (in 2010) as executed in 1916 by Isidore Konti.</gallery> ==References== {{Reflist}} ==External links== {{Portal|New York City|Visual arts}} * {{Commons category-inline|Pulitzer Fountain}} {{Karl Bitter}} {{Public art in Manhattan}} {{Fifth Avenue}} [[Category:1916 establishments in New York City]] [[Category:1916 sculptures]] [[Category:59th Street (Manhattan)]] [[Category:Bronze sculptures in Manhattan]] [[Category:Fountains in New York City]] [[Category:Midtown Manhattan]] [[Category:Nude sculptures in New York (state)]] [[Category:Outdoor sculptures in Manhattan]] [[Category:Sculptures by Karl Bitter]] [[Category:Sculptures of goddesses]] [[Category:Sculptures of women in New York City]] [[Category:Statues in New York City]]'