Battery Park was the host to five distinct “Castles” over the course of its existence:
- 1626: Fort Amsterdam
- 1 year after the settling of Battery Park in 1825, the Dutch started construction on Fort Amsterdam
- Fort Amsterdam was created on the port in order to defend the new Dutch settlement
- Fort Amsterdam also served as a trading center
- 1808: Castle Clinton
- built by Americans that feared an attack from the British, preceding the war of 1812
- armed with cannons that could fire for miles
- cannons were never fired at an enemy
- 1823 to 1854: Castle Garden entertainment center
- featured many mediums of entertainment
- opera
- theater
- a restaurant was also constructed
- 1855 to 1890: Immigration
- during this time 8 million people went through Castle Garden
- At this time, the statistic was that two of three immigrants passed through Castle Garden
- 1896: Aquarium
- The biggest attraction for the castle garden aquarium was the beluga whale
What is the significance of the site now?
ReplyDeleteNow it serves as a ticketing booth for ellis island and the Statue of Liberty.
DeleteWas Ellis Island immigration building not built at the time people went through Castle Garden? (Ellis Island started accepting immigrants in 1892)
ReplyDeleteThe first immigration station was Castle Clinton, but after roughly thirty years they realized they needed a bigger station, hence they built Ellis island.
DeleteI liked the opening line of the presentation: that this was a place to keep people out and then later to let them in.
ReplyDeleteCastle Garden is a classic example of a building that goes through multiple uses over time as the times change -- in this case, from defense to immigration to entertainment to education/entertainment today. This happens in NYC a lot, not only in response to changing times but because the people who live in a particular neighborhood change. Can anyone think of an example? (a tough question, I know)
ReplyDeleteI would like to talk about one specific thing that I learned on the personal walking tour I went on. There was a pickler on the lower east side, they were called the pickle guys. They originally served the mass jewish population with the original pickle. As time went on more people from the Caribbean were immigrating to the lower east side, and more and more picklers were shutting down, because the Caribbean people were not buying the original pickle. The Pickle guys aware that they needed to change experimented and made pineapple pickles incorporating the original idea of pickling something, but pickling something from the Caribbean. Because of the innovation and intuition, they were able to keep up with popular demand and now they are the only picklers left on the lower east side. I hope this answers your question.
DeleteHas the site used to have more significance in terms of protection, but does it have more recognition for one of its later uses?
ReplyDeleteIts most known use was being the first immigration station, that being said, its other uses were also very important.
DeleteI find it interesting how one park served and continues to serve so many purposes through time– going from a trading center to an (unused) army base, to an entertainment center to an immigration center to an aquarium, and today it is a national monument.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Elise, it is fasinating how one thing can serve very different purposes.
DeleteIt is interesting to see how castle garden/battery park as been used for a wide range of purposes from the Revolutionary era to now.
ReplyDeleteThis is very true. This is a prime example of just how much New York has changed, and is currently changing from the revolutionary era to today.
Delete