William T. Stead Memorial
Central Park
Located just north of Engineer’s Gate at 91st Street and Fifth Avenue, this bronze bas-relief remembers British journalist William T. Stead (1849–1912), who perished along with over 1,500 others when the RMS Titanic sank on April 15, 1912. This piece is a replica of a work by British sculptor George James Frampton (1860–1928) whose original is set into a wall along London’s Embankment promenade on the Thames River. The American version, located at Fifth Avenue at 91st Street, is set into the wall of Central Park.
Stead was a well-known journalist who founded the Review of Reviews publication in 1890. He bravely distinguished himself by helping others at the expense of his own life while the Titanic sank into the depths of the North Atlantic. A memorial was erected in London in 1913 following the tragedy. New Yorkers dedicated a copy on July 5, 1920, in this limestone setting designed by the architectural firm of Carrère and Hastings.
Two allegorical figures flank the inscription, a knight representing Fortitude and an angel figure representing Sympathy. The knight was stolen in the 1930s and resculpted in 1936. In 1996 the Central Park Conservancy restored the monument and replaced the missing features.
Saturday, Dec 01, 2001