TOMPKINS TEMPERANCE

SEEN here on a Forgotten NY tour in 2018, The Tompkins Square Temperance Monument, erected in 1891, was a gift from a San Francisco dentist and temperance activist, Henry Cogswell (1820-1900). His successful practice, and fortunate real estate investments, allowed him to retire at age 36, having amassed a fortune of $2 million…perhaps Buffett, Musk or Bloomberg money if he lived today. In the late 19th and early 20th Centuries, temperance movements in which people gave up drinking were prevalent (enough so that the US Congress adopted Prohibition from 1919 to 1932, and Russia, Iceland, Norway, Hungary and Finland adopted similar laws in the same time period). Cogswell became a philanthropist with his chief interest being prohibiting liquor consumption, and so sponsored this monument and fountain. The goddess on the top is the little-known Hebe (pronounced ay-bay) the gods’ cupbearer on Mount Olympus, and one of Heracles (or Hercules’) many ‘conquests.’ The statue was originally forged by Jordan Mott Works, the iron works that gave Mott Haven, Bronx, its name; this is a bronze replica installed in a 1992 renovation.

In 2003 I was staggering down Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, DC one morning when I spotted a monument at its intersection with 7th Street and Indiana Avenue, within sight of the White House, that greatly resembled the Tompkins Square monument.

There is a good reason for that: Cogswell is responsible for this one, too:

“Cogswell’s most lasting legacy was the 50 monuments he sponsored nationwide between 1878 and the 1890s. Most were versions of the temperance fountain. Several of the fountains, such as those in Washington, D. C., Boston Common, and in Tompkins Square Park, were covered by a stone canopy or baldachin supported by four Doric columns. As can be seen here, the four stone entablatures were emblazoned with the words Faith, Hope, Charity, and Temperance.” [NYC Parks]

There are subtle differences; note the stork on top, replacing Hebe, and the pedestal is occupied by a big fish; it’s empty in Tompkins Square Park.

Other Cogswell fountains in Buffalo, Rochester, San Francisco, and Pawtucket, RI have been torn down.

After the tour that day, for the postgame show we stopped in at Odessa on Avenue A, the Ukrainian diner, which is long gone now. Sick transit, Gloria!

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5/12/25