The Many Lives of Castle Clinton

It may look like an untouched and highly preserved archaeological site, but Castle Clinton is really a poster child for historic adaptive reuse in NYC. 

Castle Clinton: Still Guarding the Tip of Manhattan

Walk down to the southern tip of Battery Park next to the Staten Island Ferry terminal and you’ll see where it all began where the first Dutch settlers built a low stone wall battery with cannons to protect the harbor and New Amsterdam.  Eventually it was fortified to repel the British invasion in 1812.

Named after DeWitt Clinton, Mayor and later Governor of New York, it ceased being a military installation in 1821 and soon opened as a restaurant and entertainment center called Castle Garden.  A roof was added in the 1840s serving as an opera house and theater until 1854.  In 1855, the Castle began serving as an immigrant landing depot before Ellis Island took over.

In 1896, the Castle was yet again transformed into the New York City Aquarium, one of the nation’s first public aquariums, and stayed that way until 1941.  Saved from demolition in 1946, the Castle was restored to its original fortification origins and now serves not only as a National Monument maintained by the National Park Service, but also as ticket office for the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island ferry.

So ignore the crowds waiting in line for tickets, wander through, or better yet, take a free 20 minute Park Ranger-guided tour.  Tours run 7 days a week 10 a.m., 12 p.m., and 2 p.m..  No reservations required.

By subway: Take the 4 or 5 train to Bowling Green Station and walk down Battery Place until you see the castle on the waterfront. 

photo courtesy of Stun on Picassa

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   Castle Clinton National Monument

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