The Angel of the Waters
and a baby baboon!
Welcome back to Big City, Little Friend; I hope you didn’t miss me last week. Substack only sent the newsletter to paid subscribers, which is a bummer because I specifically announced last week that I was removing paywalls and making my newsletter pay-if-you-wish! Paid subscribers can still reach out anytime to get my help planning a NYC itinerary and truthfully I’ll do whatever else you want, just ask. I’m also making the change to writing about 2 topics each week that way I can write more in depth and not feel like I have to cram 4 different sections in. More info in last week’s issue!
I’m also working on jazzing this place up a bit. Is it too much? Maybe, but it’s Pride month goddammit and we should all be our fanciest most fabulous selves. Speaking of Pride, it’s about to get pretty legibitiqua in here! I’m gonna take some time this month to highlight some of NYC’s LGBTQ history outside of the well known story of the Stonewall Riots. Do you want a piece of NYC’s LGBTQ history covered? Let me know!
Ok I know I just wrote about The Bronx Zoo a couple weeks ago, but ya girl went to another zoo - The Prospect Park Zoo! I tried going here almost a year ago but my plans happened to coincide with a huge storm that would cause severe damage to the area and close the zoo for almost a year (all of the animals were fine!). The zoo just reopened on Memorial Day weekend and after my annual Smorgasburg pilgrimage (it gets more disappointing and expensive every year tbh) I decided to visit.
The Prospect Park Zoo started as a menagerie in 1890, which feels whimsical but literally just means “a collection of wild animals kept in captivity for exhibition.” Rich folks basically had extra animals 🤷 and would plop them into cages in the park for folks to look at. It was basically complete disorganization for 40 years until the 1930s when Robert Moses (then Parks Commish) embarked on his grand plan to revitalize NYC parks (usually by bulldozing over others). This zoo was run by the NYC Parks Dept until the 1980s when control was handed over to the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) which now runs all of NYC’s zoos and one aquarium.
The Prospect Park Zoo is pretty tiny and has had its share of incidents over the years which have shaped it into what it is today. In the early days, they were happy to house any animals that were donated to them, including seals, buffalo, deer, foxes, peacocks, monkeys, and elephants. But big animals need more space and cramming elephants and bears into this zoo would be a recipe for disaster. People climbed into the enclosures and got hurt (and killed), people threw objects at the animals which hurt (and killed) the animals, and the more I think about it people might be the problem? Apparently there was just rampant vandalism at this zoo and the animals frequently suffered.
Eventually the zoo underwent a renovation in the late 1980s and the WCS rebranded each of our three small zoos with a specific purpose: The Central Park Zoo would be focused toward conservation; the Prospect Park Zoo would be primarily a children's zoo; and the Queens Zoo would become a zoo with North American animals. Thus, Prospect Park sent most of its big animals north to The Bronx Zoo and reopened with Discovery Centers and interactive exhibits for kids.
While I did have fun seeing animals on a beautiful day, I was overall a little underwhelmed with this zoo. The grounds contain a central Sea Lion area (is this a zoo requirement?) with three themed buildings surrounding it. I was most disappointed in the lack of plaques! I want to read about the animals that I’m seeing, learn where they’re from, what they eat, who their friends are, but the plaques at this zoo were either very bare or completely non-existent. Knowing now that this is largely a children’s zoo I guess that makes sense because kids can’t read, but what about the adults??
Like The Bronx Zoo, this zoo also allows its peacock residents to roam free. There were two hanging around the central Sea Lion plaza and they would occasionally scrounge for food or simply start yelling. It was pretty disheartening to watch kids chase them and scream at them and made the experience feel kind of icky. I kinda understand why that peacock bit that guy in The Bronx last year now.
Some of the exhibits were really fun though! There was a tank with tons of tiny poisonous frogs in it and they were all really vibrant colors. I was absolutely elated when the pallas cat woke up and started walking around. Red Pandas are lazy and adorable.
I was probably most intrigued by the porcupines though - did you know that porcupines are fucking huge??? Why are they so much bigger than I thought? They’re bigger than my large 20lb cat. I really thought porcupines were like the size of guinea pigs and now I know I was so wrong (and also likely thinking of hedgehogs).
I also really loved the baboons. They had a really big enclosure behind a glass wall with a small chunk of stadium seating, so I got to sit for a bit and watch baboon tv. I saw a whole family (pictured below) and one of the zoo staff said that one of the baboons was literally just a 6 day old bebe (zoom in - bebe is the tiny black thing between middle baboons legs) 🥹
After visiting, I can definitely see why this zoo is more geared towards children. It actually has a separate Children’s Corner that I didn’t go to because there were plenty of children everywhere already and I didn’t want to go to where they might be more concentrated. You can likely spend 2 hours here max and for the $10 admission fee, that’s not bad. The best selling point is that it’s near so many other great attractions, so it’s probably best to tack this onto a day when you’re already doing something in the area.
Did you know that one of NYC’s most iconic sculptures is gay AF? That’s right, I’m finally writing about Emma Stebbins’ Angel of the Waters atop Bethesda Fountain!! This is one of my absolute favorite places in the city and I hope that after I tell you the history of this sculpture you’ll fall in love with it, too.
The story begins with our girl Emma Stebbins. She was fortunate enough to be born into a well-to-do family in NYC in 1815. They encouraged her to study art and pursue a creative career because she didn’t need a job that actually made her money, so why not be an artist? She eventually made her way to Rome to pursue her interest in sculpting, a place where art was actually appreciated compared to the capitalist ass USA and it was in Rome that Emma truly blossomed!
Emma was quite shy and self-identified as “a soft-shelled crab” (same, girl, same). While in Rome, she became acquainted with a group of out-ish lesbian artists, known as “female jolly bachelors.” Their flock included novelist Matilda Hayes, sculptors Harriet Hosmer and Edmonia Lewis, and their de-facto leader actress Charlotte Cushman. The opposite of Emma, Charlotte was described as incredibly outgoing with a magnetic personality. She was well regarded for acting in Shakespearean plays and her full contralto register allowed her to play both male and female parts. History books (and Charlotte’s obituary) will say they were friends, but Charlotte and Emma were definitely in love.
Emma and Charlotte had what was called a “Boston marriage,” which is to say that they were two fancy ladies, living together, throwing “lavish dinner parties and waffle breakfasts.” If that’s a Boston marriage, sign me the fuck up.
While there’s no official record of their relationship, we know that they did exchange “unofficial” vows and in 1858, Charlotte wrote in a letter to a friend, “Do you not know that I am already married and wear the badge upon the third finger of my left hand?” Bitch step off, this woman is taken!
Back in the good ol’ USA, Central Park was being built! Vaux and Calvert’s original plan for the park only included one monument in it (and no playgrounds because kids should be happy playing with sticks) and this monument would depict the most significant moment in New York history: the 1842 opening of the Old Croton Aqueduct. I wrote a bit about the Old Aqueduct and the updated version that was made in the late 1800s, so if you fancy a read about NYC’s drinking water, have at it! But the TL;DR is that before the aqueduct, NYC’s water was dirty AF and folks were dying of cholera left and right (including Emma’s younger brother). The combination of clean water and a large park to allow folks to get fresh air were absolute game changers and played huge roles in NYC growing into the city it is today instead of it turning into a literal cesspool (no jokes, please).
It just so happened that Emma’s brother, Henry, was board president and chairman of the Standing Committee on Structures, Architecture, and Fountains so when he heard that there was an opening for a sculpture, he threw his sister’s hat in the ring and snagged her the gig! She became the first woman to receive a public art commission in New York City. This feels like good nepotism because otherwise some dude probably would have gotten the job and even today Central Park is lacking in lady-led commissions.
The statue that Emma created to sit atop the fountain is comprised of an angel holding a lily, symbolizing the purity of the water, and four cherubs surrounding the pedestal representing peace, health, purity, and temperance. Emma said that the sculpture’s angel was inspired by the biblical story of an angel blessing the Pool of Bethesda to give it healing powers - this is also what gave the area the name Bethesda Terrace, changed from the original Water Terrace. In the Spring and Summer, the pool below the fountain is filled with water lilies, lotus, and papyrus.
Emma wrote of her sculpture “An angel descending to bless the water for healing seems not inappropriate in connection with a fountain; for, although we have not the sad groups of blind, halt and withered waiting to be healed by the miraculous advent of the angel, we have no less healing, comfort and purification, freely sent to us through the blessed gift of pure, wholesome water, which to all the countless homes of this great city, comes like an angel visitant.”
And I wish I could say that everyone loved the sculpture and NYC lived happily ever after, but lots of folks found reasons to hate on it. The freakin NYT wrote that “All had expected something great, something of angelic power and beauty and when a feebly-pretty idealess thing of bronze was revealed the revulsion of feeling was painful. The figure resembles a servant girl executing a polka.” The Times did later publish an updated obituary for Emma and other LGBTQ figures, but goddam was that review stanky.
I also wish I could say that after her big park commission Emma lived happily ever after with Charlotte, but Charlotte sadly became afflicted with breast cancer and died from pneumonia 3 years later. Emma largely stopped working to take care of Charlotte in her final years and dedicated much of the rest of her life to writing a biography of her “friend”. Emma eventually passed in 1882 at age 67 and is buried in Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn.
A persistent rumor is that Charlotte was Emma’s muse for her Angel of the Waters statue. The angel’s face bears a resemblance to Emma’s dear Charlotte and folks believe that this statue was Emma’s way of forever commemorating their love for one another. That’s pretty fucking gay and awesome.
I’ve got a long list of Pride and Juneteenth events on deck that’ll come out over the next 2 weeks, so stay tuned! If you are in need of a drag queen this (or any) month, may I recommend my girl Svetlana Stoli? She’s done events at all of my offices for the past 7 years!
The older I get, the more I feel the urge to watch birds. Is this happening to anyone else? Famed McGolrick Bird Club is coming to McCarren Park this Sunday, so this is your (and my) chance to see what birds are living in Williamsburg!
This weekend is also the Lavender Festival on Governor’s Island. Most of the festival is free to attend, but some workshops require a reservation so be sure to check here.
Apparently June 8 is nationally(?) recognized as Ghostbusters Day?! Ghostbusters fans from all over will travel to Tribeca’s Ladder 8 Fire Hour this weekend to show that they are, in fact, not afraid of no ghost. There will be lots of fun activities and raffles to help fundraise for Tunnel to Towers Foundation, which supports the families of first responders and military.
I need to get on the Bryant Park bandwagon because they have been killin it with cool events. I’m so bummed I missed the giant game of musical chairs, but the good news is that they also host giant bingo games every Wednesday! Make sure you register beforehand to participate.
While the Delacorte Theater in Central Park is closed, Shakespeare in the Park is hitting the road and performing all across the boroughs! This summer’s play is The Comedy of Errors and it’ll be performed in both English and Spanish. Peep the schedule to see if they’re coming to a park near you. These shows are completely free, but they do fill up so arrive early and bring something comfy to sit on in case the chairs are taken.
Big news from local bathroom celebrity Teddy @Got2GoNYC: The Mayor announced plans to build or renovate 82 restrooms over the next five years. While Teddy has maintained a map of all public bathrooms (and codes!) over the years, the city has now released a Google Bathroom Map. As a girlie with *tummy issues* I am so fucking relieved to see some movement here.
I would Boston marry you in a MINUTE but it feels like our dinner parties would be way less fun with my children there to tell me how disgusting my waffles are (which Nora did literally last night, before proceeding to eat two giant ones). I am still actively interested in becoming lavishly wealthy and told to pursue my art!