Hamilton Fountain

76^th Street & Riverside Drive

The ornately carved pink limestone fountain was designed by Warren & Wetmore, the architects of Grand Central Station, and erected in 1906. Located at West 76th Street and Riverside Drive, the fountain contains an inscription that reads, “Bequeathed to the people of New York by Robert Ray Hamilton.”

Robert Ray Hamilton, a descendent of Alexander Hamilton was a wealthy sportsman and politician, who drowned on a hunting trip in 1890. He was surrounded by scandal at the time of his death, since he was in the midst of a divorce from his wife, a known bigamist who was in prison for “atrocious assault.” His wife, it seems, in addition to having another husband, had attempted to steal another woman’s child, and stabbed the baby’s nurse in a fight. In his will Hamilton left $10,000 to build the fountain in his memory. The highly respectable Hamilton family did not want a monument erected in honor of the black sheep member of their family, and they strongly opposed the fountain.

In 1992, a Riverside Park Fund volunteer received permission to create a water garden in the then cracked and empty basin of the Hamilton Fountain. Donated materials sealed the cracks, and the basin was filled with water from a building across the street.

Now, however, the Hamilton Fountain and Plaza are in disrepair. The Fountain no longer holds water, and part of the structure is broken. These are long-standing problems that must be solved to preserve history and see the full potential of this special area of the Park.