Photograph of Bethesda Terrace, taken by H.L. Wittemann but for some reason included in this assignment.
Bethesda Terrace, present day.
Bethesda Terrace began with the large staircases in 1859, followed by the fountain surrounding Central Park’s Lake in 1868. The above picture according to its page on the Museum of the City of New York site is not discussed in terms of the date, though the presence of what seem to be electric light-posts place it at least in the early 20th Century.
The main difficulty in creating an exact match between the two photographs was the height of the photos. The height of the Wittemann photo seems impossible from places in the park that can be accessed by the public. If anything, the hills and other places of elevation near the Terrace and Fountain have become overwrought with trees, thus obscuring the view of the terrace, fountain, and the buildings on the West Side.
The photography done by a few such as Wittemann helped in establishing Hassam’s paintings as faithful records of New York City locations. Have you tried to climb a little higher and photograph from the bridge/road looking down at the fountain? Your difficulty is in the changed landscaping done to the park in the last 100 years.
I did try to climb higher, but I was obscured by trees. (Perhaps Wittemann climbed up into a tree to get his picture? If he did, that was not something I was going to endeavor.)