A fountain memorial is commemorating social worker and progressive reform leader Josephine Shaw Lowell (1843-1905). Became a civil war widow at 21, Lowell co-founds the NYC consumers league – an organization aimed to improve working conditions and wages of working women. She also founded the Charity Organization Society and was the first woman to be a member of the NYC Board of charities.
Dedicated on May 21st, 1912, the fountain is the first monument in NYC to honor a woman. Designed by Architect Charles A. Platt, the fountain is made of granite and bronze and composed of a 13-foot upper basin supported by a 32-foot pedestal. First, it was installed on the east side of Bryant Park, and in 1936, it was relocated to the west side, on the other side of the statue of Gertrude Stein. A small sign on the ground, almost unnoticeable, states, “This fountain commemorates the strong and beautiful character of Josephine Shaw Lowell 1943-1905.”
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