It is decorated with an interlocking circles banister, with eight planting urns on top of decorative bas-reliefpanels. Intricate arabesque elements and volutes can be seen underneath the span arch. Its 87-foot-long (27 m) span is the longest of the park's bridges, though the balustrade is 142 feet (43 m) long.[2][3][4] While other bridges in Central Park are inconspicuous, the Bow Bridge is made to stand out from its surroundings.[5] The Bow Bridge is also the only one of Central Park's seven ornamental iron bridges that does not traverse a bridle path.[6]
The bridge was designed by Calvert Vaux and Jacob Wrey Mould, and completed in 1862.[3][4] It was built by the Bronx-based iron foundry Janes, Kirtland & Co., the same company that constructed the dome of U.S. Capitol Building.[7] The bridge was restored in 1974.[3][4][8] The bridge was closed again in November 2023 for a two-month renovation.[9][10]