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Hernshead
is a miniature woodland landscape overlooking the Lake. The name
"Hernshead" was derived from the shape of the prominent
bedrock outcrop that punctuates the end of this small peninsula. To
Olmsted and Vaux, its shape resembled the head of a heron
("hern" in its British translation). Olmsted lavished
horticultural attention on this site, first with a grove of London
plane trees and then with a variety of herbaceous plants and shrubs.
Spring is Hernshead's season with blooming azaleas, Virginia
bluebells, Dutchman's breeches, and daffodils. Violets add diminutive
dots of color amid the unfurling fern fronds. Most striking of all,
in late June, is the copse of flowering white mountain laurel –
a rare sight in Central Park.
A
narrow pathway through the woods ends at a filigreed cast iron
structure called "The Ladies Pavilion." Located earlier at
Columbus Circle on the site of the Maine Monument to serve as a bus
shelter, it was moved to Hernshead sometime after 1912. Like many of
the Victorian vintage structures in the Park, it has elaborate
ornamental detailing requiring consistent maintenance; the good news
is that restoration is in the works with plans for ongoing care. The
Ladies Pavilion provides a "time past" setting for admiring
the vista of the Lake.
In
1988, the Conservancy restored the boat landing at Hernshead,
including the restabilization of the shore edge and the
reconstruction of the paths and the drainage system from the West
Drive to the Lake. |
