The idea for a unified treatment of the plaza was first proposed by Karl Bitter in 1898. The newspaper publisher Joseph Pulitzer died in 1911 having bequeathed $50,000 for the creation of a memorial fountain to be "like those in the Place de la Concorde, Paris, France." In December 1912, the executors of Pulitzer's estate announced that New York City had approved the fountain's proposed location, in the plaza between 58th Street and 60th Street, just west of Fifth Avenue, the same plaza where the equestrian Sherman Monument stood since 1903. The executors invited five architecture firms to participate in a competition to determine the fountain's design, and to provide designs for a "good architectural treatment of the whole plaza." In January 1913, the five schemes were exhibited at the New York Public Library Main Branch, including the winning scheme, designed by Carrère and Hastings. Architect Thomas Hasting's design placed the fountain in the southern half of the plaza, whereas the Sherman Monument remained in the northern half. Construction of the new plaza began in 1915, and by November one newspaper reported: "The Pulitzer Fountain...is now finished and bubbling with the purest Croton water," noting that work on the northern portion of the plaza was delayed by subway construction. The New York City Board of Aldermen named the space the Grand Army Plaza in 1923 after the Grand Army of the Potomac.
Renovations and landmark designation
In 1933, Herbert, Joseph and Ralph, sons of Joseph Pulitzer, donated $35,000 for the restoration of the Pulitzer Fountain, done under the supervision of architect Dan Everett Waid. The work, delayed by labor troubles, was completed by June 1935. As part of the work, the limestone basin was rebuilt in Italian marble, and the plaza's limestone balustrade and columns that surrounded the fountain were demolished. On May 30, 1974, the Landmarks Preservation Commission held a public hearing to consider designation of the Grand Army Plaza, including the Pulitzer Fountain and Sherman Monument, as a Scenic Landmark. The measure was approved on July 23, 1974. On March 26, 1985, the Central Park Conservancy and the architecture firm of Buttrick White & Burtis presented plans to the Landmarks Preservation Commission for a full restoration of the plaza, including the Pulitzer Fountain. The plans called for the restoration of the balustrade and columns removed in the 1935 repairs. The work was completed in June 1990, including a reconstruction of the fountain, this time in granite. Plans to restore the balustrade and columns were abandoned on account of costs. The New York Times wrote: "For years this fountain merely dripped and dribbled, but now it cascades, and that makes all the difference, for now the Pulitzer Fountain has a sound." The restoration work included a re-gilding of the Sherman Monument. The plaza was renewed again in 2013, including a re-gilding of the statue of William Tecumseh Sherman.
