CASTLE CLINTON NATIONAL MONUMENT, Can you "ACE" this one question quiz? Could Bill & Hillary?
Written: Jun 06 '03 (Updated Dec 04 '06)
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Pros: If you visit the Statue of Liberty from NY, you pass through it.
Cons: Its history gets lost with all the other National Sites nearby.
The Bottom Line: While downtown getting tickets for the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, take a little time and learn of the castle's history.
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| popsrocks's Full Review: Castle Clinton National Monument |
I shall now give you an unannounced quiz.
Most people go down to Battery Park to purchase tickets to The Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island and don't even realize they are in the midst of a National Monument of its own right.
Which of the following describes Castle Clinton?
*A fort on an outcrop of rocks just off lower Manhattan.
*The major immigration center where 8 million people were processed to enter the USA.
*The "Lincoln Center" of Manhattan that hosted top performers, Opera, and music from around the world.
*The New York Aquarium
*The port from which trips to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island are taken.
*The Bivouack area for National Guard Troops after September 11th.
*The site for future excursions up the Hudson River and to Gateway National Park, for cultural events and musical performance, and education.
A.none of the above
B.some of the above
C.all of the above
For those "in the know", the answer is C.all of the above. The Castle Clinton of today has gone through many changes in the last two hundred years.
GETTING THERE
Being on the Southern tip of Manhattan you can get there by car. I don't really recommend this as the way to go because traffic and parking can both be difficult especially on weekdays. There are expensive parking garages available. Large vans and RVs beware. There isn't much parking for these vehicles. Call ahead to the park and find out what you can.
Taking the FDR Drive from the east side of Manhattan will get you there as will West Street on the west side of Manhattan. For those who dare and have a lot of time you can take Broadway all the way downtown.
The easiest way to get downtown is by subway. They are safe and somewhat clean. The 1,9,r,and n lines will get you there. Buses also go downtown.
Taxis are another option but getting back uptown at night can sometimes be difficult because of a lack of cabs roaming the area.
SOME HISTORY Actually a lot of history.
In 1808-1811 it was built as a fort on the same ground it is on today, however, at the time it was an island some two hundred feet from lower Manhattan. There was a wooden walkway that attached it to Manhattan.
During the War of 1812 not a shot was fired from the fort. In 1817 the fort was named Castle Clinton after the popular mayor of NY DeWitt Clinton. No, it has nothing to do with our last president. Soon after the army closed the fort and it was given to New York City.
In 1824 it was opened as an amphitheatre presenting entertainment and boasting a restaurant. Sixteen years later a roof was put on and it became the premiere Opera House of New York. Its name by this time was The Castle Garden.It is now compared to as the "Lincoln Center" of its time. It was a 6,000 seat concert hall.
A gentleman by the name of Walt Whitman was part of the NYCs working press at the time and frequently reviewed entertainment at the Castle Garden. He attributed much to what he learned in music at the Castle Garden to the cadence and structure of his poems.
He particularly enjoyed artists like Geremia Bettini in La Favorita, and Don Francisco Marti Italian Company from Havana. Other artists that played the Castle Garden were baritone Cesare Baldiali, Grisi, and the "Swedish Nightingale" Jenny Lind.
Soon after, the music scene started moving uptown and the castle garden closed its doors to entertainment. It reopened the doors again. This time to over 8 million immigrants from around the world.
It was the Emigrant Landing Depot in New York from 1855 until Ellis Island opened in 1890.
Somewhere during these years landfill connected the island to Manhattan. Soon afterward in 1896 the site became the New York Aquarium. It was a very popular site until the beginning of WWII in 1941 when it closed.
It seemed the site was the target for a wreckers ball until 1946 when it was designated a National Monument and became part of the US department of Interior's National Park Service.
At that time it was restored to look like the original fort it was. The forts outer walls are original.
It reopened then as a historic site with dioramas depicting its past glories. There are three dioramas of lower Manhattan. One shows the original fort in its setting in 1812. There is another showing it as the domed immigration center it was in 1886. The last shows it as the popular New York Aquarium of 1941 just before it closed its doors.
TODAY'S CASTLE CLINTON
The fort was constructed from bricks of red sandstone. The Sally Port, the entrance, is on the city side of the fort. That is the north side that you will enter after arriving by foot, subway ,bus, or car. The rest of the fort was built in the shape of a D, with its cannon radiating toward the harbor.
These days the primary purpose of the castle and the Rangers in it is to help in the movement of people to the famous Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. I was there about three weeks ago on a Friday and again on a Monday. It wasn't terribly busy then. Summers and weekends can be different. Tickets are purchased inside the parade grounds. There is also a small bookshop with souvenirs. This is where you can also have your National Parks Passport canceled.
This is a way of collecting National Parks, Monuments, and Historic Sites. The cool thing here is that, if you take the ferry to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island and then take a short walk up to Federal Hall in lower Manhattan, you can get four different stamps of four different National Sites. There are very few places in the United States where you can get so many in a small geographic area. Washington DC, Philadelphia, and Boston have a many sites together like this too.
There are nearby restrooms and food vendors just outside the site.
Tours are no longer scheduled. Due to the masses of people and higher security the Rangers are doing a bit more police work and crowd control. If, however, it's a quieter day you can ask for a tour and you may just get it. They are very open to answering questions and giving tours if it's not busy.
You can do a tour on your own. If it's a nice day look for the brochure on the racks. If not, go inside the small museum. You can find a brochure there. It will explain some history, interesting parts of the fort and a bit about the dioramas.
There is no charge for seeing this. These were part of the original historic park in the early 1950's as I explained earlier. It's interesting to see how the downtown area has changed over the years. While out on the water going to or from the Statue or Ellis Island, note how much different it is again today. On a sad note how different it is since September 11th 2001.
Future plans for the site see the possibility of the fort getting a roof again. With that they hope to have future entertainment there once again. There was a concert held at the grounds in 1996. It was the first one in over 100 years.
If you are in Battery Park to get to Castle Clinton for tickets to The Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island be sure to check out what lower Manhattan has to offer. I do have some of that listed in a review of Battery Park.
I mentioned Federal Hall earlier. This is where George Washington, the first President of the United States took his oath of presidency. Just a two minute walk away is the Jewish Heritage Museum and The Museum of the American Indian. Check out Wall street, South Street Seaport, Ground Zero, and so much more that is within a fifteen minute walk.
This small fort, Castle Clinton, helped protect and invite in the people of yesteryear who helped build what we have today. Give it a little of your time.
other NEW YORK reviews by Popsrocks
New York City It's a wonderful town!
The Statue of Liberty
Ellis Island
Battery Park Home of the temporary 9/11 memorial.
SOUTH STREET SEAPORT
Greenwich Village It's Hip and Happening
The EMPIRE STATE BUILDING
TKTS half price tickets to Broadway
Aida, the Broadway Play Great show at half price
Central Park
Stardust DinerGood eats and lots of fun!! Aspiring actors sing and entertain while serving you.
Sylvia's, a southern soul restaurant in Harlem
Grant's Tomb
New York State
Millenium Hilton, directly across from ground zero. They have reopened!
Something is Missing A Tribute to the good people and the twin towers that were lost on 9/11
http://www.epinions.com/content_3161628804
Passport to our National Parks
Recommended:
Yes
Best time to go: Anytime
Recommended for: Anybody
Review Topic: Overview
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