Named after the greenhouse conservatory nearby in Central Park, the Conservatory Water is a constructed pond utilizing a natural hollow for its basin. Central Park master planners Fredrick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux created the pond in 1891 as a welcomed difference to the parterre garden “Greensward Plan” that previously occupied the area. With its water supplied from The Ramble and Lake (another Central Park water fixture), the Conservatory Water and the nearby Kerbs Boathouse, are home to many radio controlled sailboats that frequent the pond’s surface during the summertime.
It is this use as a radio controlled sailboat-racing site in E.B. White’s children’s book Stuart Little that has given the Conservatory Water New York literary prominence. In chapter two, Stuart Little (the protagonist, who also happens to be a mouse) participates in racing one of the many sailboats available for use on the pond.
Today, the Conservatory Water is a popular tourist destination for young children and parents alike who come to race sailboats like Stuart Little did. What once was just a pond to add contrast to Central Park’s many gardens has now become a mecca for E.B. White fans from around the globe.