By 1897, New York City was well on its way to becoming the metropolis of steel and concrete that we know today. Elevator cars were carrying passengers up and down in the earliest skyscrapers, while the elevated rail lines stretched further and further uptown. It was around this time that photographer James Reuel Smith embarked upon a quest to document part of the city’s vanishing pastoral life—its springs and wells.

The McGown's Pass Tavern was built in 1883-1884 and served refreshments to Central Park visitors for the next 30 years. Originally called the Mount St. Vincent's Hotel (after an earlier establishment), the first proprietor was Patrick H. McCann, brother-in-law to a Tammany Hall boss. Supposedly McCann lost his lease on the business in 1890 after refusing to provide Tammany men free entertainment (a capital offense to the presumptuous and overly indulged political machine leaders). The Tavern closed in 1915, its furnishings sold at auction, and the building razed.