Alive or cast in bronze, all the animals at the Central Park Zoo are pretty charming.
Case in point: two creatures flanking the entrance gate of the Children’s Zoo since 1937, both hoofing it and having a blast.
Honey Bear is on the north side. She (he?) is on hind legs, playfully (or hungrily?) sticking her tongue out, standing on a basin surrounded by five bug-eyed water-spraying frogs.
On the south side is the Dancing Goat.
A little more ornery looking, Dancing Goat is also on hind legs in a basin, five bold little ducks who serve as fountains at his feet.
These two whimsical statues are the creation of Brooklyn native Frederick George Richard Roth.
An accomplished artist born in 1872, Roth was the head sculptor of the city Parks Department in the 1930s.
(Who knew the parks department once had a head sculptor?)
If you’ve spent time in Central Park, you’ve probably seen his work. Roth designed the Mother Goose monument as well as the statue of hero husky Balto.
You know Balto, the sled dog who helped deliver medicine to sick kids in an Alaskan Blizzard in 1925.
This dancing goat isn’t the only one in Central Park.
These two bronze miniatures flanking a frolicking boy sit on top of the Lehman Gates at the entrance to the Children’s Zoo, along with other bronze critters. As if this part of the park could get any sweeter.
Tags: Animal Statues Central Park, Central Park animalier, Central Park Zoo bronze sculptures, Children's Zoo Central Park, Dancing Bear, Dancing Goat, Frederick George Richard Roth sculptor
Ephemeral New York 
February 27, 2014 at 6:30 am |
WAIT!! You are the first person to “NAIL” my favorite statues in the children’s part of the Central Park ZOO!
Did he not design the clock as well! that goes around and plays music?
I started taking my granddaughter there when she couldn’t talk yet!
And when her parent’s drove in a cab anywhere near the zoo……she was burbling….and gurgling…..and they figured out……”clock”!!
The Central park zoo and the bronze statues……all of them……and the clock……..
Magnificent things…….and things that make living in Manhattan so great for children, adults……and wild animals!
“Pale Male” is still alive; has a mate…….and may give us hatch ed erases this year!
go to : http://www.palemale.com! He is the reason I went onto the internet!
Lincoln!! Bravo!!!
March 4, 2014 at 12:59 am |
From the NYC Parks Department, “Italian sculptor Andrea Spadini (1912–1983) crafted the whimsical bronze sculptures, which depict a penguin, kangaroo, bear, elephant, goat, and hippo parading with a variety of musical instruments as well as two monkeys with mallets that strike the bell.” Done by a different person but all quite magnificent.
February 27, 2014 at 2:11 pm |
Tender creatures for the children with sufficient detail and wit to fascinate adults.
March 8, 2014 at 6:31 pm |
These two statues make my day every time I pass by. There’s something about their nutty exuberance that’s catching.
January 12, 2015 at 7:44 am |
[…] It’s one of the more naturalistic animal sculptures in and around the zoo, less fanciful than these bronze goats and bears and frogs. […]
February 1, 2021 at 1:36 am |
[…] for a number of other sculptures in the Park as well, including Balto, the Sophie Loeb Fountain, Dancing Goat, and Honey Bear,” states the Central Park Conservatory. He also made the limestone reliefs of animals in and […]