Board of Water Supply. "Fountain of Youth" at Board of Water Supply exhibit at Grand Central Palace as part of the Silver Jubilee of Greater New York which celebrated the first 25 years of the five boroughs' unification as one city. In this photo, Olympic gold medalist and engineer Ray C. Ewry is Rip Van Winkle and his colleague Maurice Solon is Spanish conquistador Juan Ponce de León. Washington Irving's character Rip Van Winkle wandered into the Catskill mountains, partied with the ghosts of Henry Hudson's crew, and fell asleep for twenty years. He became an early mascot of sorts for the Board of Water Supply as it ventured into the Catskills to find a source of clean water for the city. Celebrations ran from May 26 through June 23, 1923.