When the Croton Aqueduct first brought clean water to New York City, it gushed forth from a number of celebratory fountains.
In their Sunday, Jan. 11, presentation at the Hastings-on-Hudson Public Library, author Stephanie Azzarone and photojournalist Robert F. Rodriguez will explore the link between the Aqueduct and the history of fountains in New York City, based on their new book Fabulous Fountains of New York.
Mixing anecdotes with images, they will show how New York’s fountains are more than just decorative features – they are historical landmarks, cultural icons and dynamic works of art that shape the city’s landscape.
New York City fountains were designed to honor men and women of accomplishment, memorialize events, and at one time, keep citizens from drinking too much alcohol. These fountains are classical and ornate or modern and streamlined. They celebrate firemen, authors, social workers and enslaved Africans, while providing a peaceful oasis amid the city’s glass and stone.
Fabulous Fountains of New York shares the stories of those fountains – new and old, famous and little known, and some that are forlorn and forgotten. It explores how they came to be, the people behind them, how the fountains have changed over time, and what makes them special.
Azzarone and Rodriguez met at NYU and have been married for over 40 years. This is their second collaboration on books about New York City.
Azzarone, a native New Yorker and former journalist, also ran a Manhattan public relations agency. Now a licensed New York City tour guide, she leads walking tours and presentations. Her first book, Heaven on the Hudson: Mansions, Monuments, and Marvels of Riverside Park, published in fall 2022, received the Victorian Society Book of the Year Award. Her second book, Fabulous Fountains of New York, launched in fall 2025.
Rodriguez is a former photographer and photo editor at The Journal News/Lohud.com and a photo editor for The Daily Mail. He has more than 50 years of experience photographing New York City and its environs and editing the photos of others. He was the photographer and photo editor for Heaven on the Hudson: Mansions, Monuments and Marvels of Riverside Park and was an artist-in-residence at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine.
The free program, part of the Sundays at the Library series presented by the Friends of the Hastings Public Library and co-hosted by the Friends of the Old Croton Aqueduct, begins at 2 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 11.
The library is at 7 Maple Ave., Hastings-on-Hudson. Visit hastingslibrary.org or call 914-478-3307 for more information.
