History of Model Boating on Conservatory Water

1857 - 1899

The original design of New York's Central Park, the 1857 Greensward Plan, envisaged a large glass house, intended for the exhibition of tropical plants, at the location of todays Conservatory Water. However, due to lack of funding the conservatory was never built, and the area configured as a floral partere was turned into an ornament pond, inspired by a model boat ponds in Paris.

Picture provided by U.S. Vintage Model Yacht Club (special thanks to Earl Boebert!)

Racing small boats was already established in Europe and startet in the U.S. by the Prospect Park Yacht Club on Independence Day 1872 - according to the remarkable article "Model Yachting About New York" by Frank Nichols, published on March 10, 1894 by the Forest and Steam Magazine. Although the article does not mention Conservatory Water, the New York Times reported about "Miniature Yachting" in Central Park in the summer of 1875. On June 19th a field of 13 schooners and 4 sloops raced. On September 19th a field of 54 boats fighted on "the little lake at Seventy-second street" in three groups for the prices (two 24inch steamboats and a steam engine!).

Of course, racing in these days were different to todays races with radio controlled boats. The races on Conservatory Water were "lake races": this means, the skipper sets the boat into the water on one side of the lake, tageting at a goal area at the other side. The boats do not have to start at the very same time, as the time it took the boat from one side to the other was taken and determined the winner.

Model Yachting represented both, a kids toy as well as a experiment at the edge of science, sometimes one boat implemented both as the article to the right describes (Source: The New York Times, January 19th, 1890).

Another world reknowned scientist developed a wireless radio controlled boat as early as 1885: the Croatian immigrant Nikola Tesla. He demonstrated his "robotic boat" in Medison Square Garden in 1898, according to the "Tesla Memorial Society of New York" (have a look at their website to learn what happened, when Japanese offered him to buy the boat!)

It took the new invention another 40 years to become common in Model Yachting! Back in 1896 there is also the first mentioning of a Model Yacht Club in Central Park (at least as far as I know): The New York Times, August 30st, 1896,  pg. 15. It took another 20 years for the formal CPMYC foundation...

Read more about Yachting in Central Park in the early 20th century here.

If you have additional information regarding the history of Conservatory Water, please contact me at contact@cpmyc.org.