5. Josephine Shaw Lowell Memorial Fountain

Josephine Shaw Lowell Fountain Bryant Park

Located in Bryant Park on Sixth Avenue between 40th and 41st streets is the Josephine Shaw Lowell Memorial Fountain, one of the first monuments dedicated to real women in New York City. The black granite fountain was designed by Charles A. Platt and dedicated on May 21, 1912 as a gift from a memorial committee.

Josephine Shaw Lowell was the first woman to have a major monument in New York City created in her honor. Lowell was a social worker, reformer, and the first female member of the New York State Board of Charities, serving from 1876 to 1889. In 1882, Lowell founded the New York Charity Organization Society, a group devoted to the cooperation of charitable agencies. Lowell believed that charity should not only relieve suffering but also help to rehabilitate the recipient.