Research and Brainstorm: Bethesda Fountain

— BY Skylar(Ziyi)Wang & Jenny Zhu

Overview of Bethesda Fountain

The Bethesda Fountain is located at the Mid-Park at 72nd Street. It is one of the largest fountains in New York. The neoclassical sculpture, also known as Angel of the Waters, features an eight-foot bronze angel who stands above four small cherubim representing health, purity, temperance, and peace. Many famous movies and TV series were filmed at the location, such as Enchanted, The Avengers, Sex and the City, and Doctor Who.

The History of the statue

The statue, Angel of the Water, was designed by Emma Stebbins and dedicated in 1873 to commemorate the opening of the Croton Aqueduct in 1842. It carries a lily in one hand and the other is poised to bless the water flowing down into the fountain. There is a quote on the statue that references the healthing powers of the biblical pool, Bethesda, which forms a connection with the fresh water that was then flowing through the fountain and the city.

Site Images

AEIOU

Behavioral Mapping

Brainstorming Tree

Concept Sketch

Idea 1: City Theatre

We were amazed by the richness of the history and media exposure of the site during research. Everyday lots of visitors come to this touristy spot and take pictures that are similar to one another. Therefore we decided to apply a filter to give the visitors a different perspective on this spot. In this example, I used a scene from “Sex and the City” shot on this spot and made it semi-transparent. Thereby people can see the combination of past and present when seeing through this filter. The passer-bys offer some dynamic touches on the “screen”, while the static figures remind us of the past.

Idea 2: Rube Goldberg coin toss machine

Tossing coins into a fountain is a traditional way of making a wish and is a common activity at this location. With this idea, we aim to create a fun way for people to do this by building a Rube Goldberg machine that will help carry the coin into the fountain.