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July 17, 2004
Governor's Island
Approaching the island.
The far corner of Fort Jay, built in 1798.
Colonels Row.
Castle Williams, built in 1811.
Inside Castle Williams.
Beautiful bridges.
I took my first NYC tourist trip ever this Friday (well, unless you count the Statue of Liberty field trip that I went on in the 8th grade). After reading in the papers that Governor's Island had recently been reopened to the public, I was curious to see what it had to offer.
Governor's Island (Nutten Island by the Dutch, Pagganck by the Lenape Indians-- both refer to the variety of nut trees on its grounds) has been home to many things over the years. Until recently, it was property of the US Army. Prior to its fortification in the late 18th century, the British used the island as a residence for colonial governors as well as a quarantine station for several thousand German immigrants (1710).
After being invaded during the Revolutionary War, New Yorkers took it up a notch and decided to fortify themselves. Fort Jay was completed in 1789 and, along with sister fortifications on Ellis and Liberty Islands, helped make Manhattan an unlikely target during the war of 1812. Castle Williams soon followed in 1811 (its twin is Castle Clinton, located in Battery Park) and was active as both a fort and a prison until 1966.
Governor's Island has also been home to many interesting occurrences, such as host to the first successful airplane flight over open water (Wilbur Wright, 1909) and a meeting between Gorbachev and Reagan in 1988. General Grant lived on Governor's Island for a bit, and in 1900, the landfill from the construction of the Lexington subway line was used to restore almost 100 acres of the island.
After the Cold War was over, defense budgets were reduced and the Coast Guard left Governor's Island. January 31, 2003 marked the end of two centuries worth of military reservation, and the island was returned to the State and City of New York and declared a national monument.
You can visit Governor's Island for tours on Tuesdays - Fridays and can picnic there (and stay longer) on Saturdays. Buy your ticket at the South Street Seaport kiosk and take the ferry from Slip 7. I highly recommend going on Saturday-- I took the Friday tour and they hurried us around so that we could catch the next ferry back, 1 1/2 hours later. I would have preferred to wander, which the park rangers are not happy about me doing.
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Joe on Governor's Island.
Some politics surrounding the development of Governor's Island.
Ticket information
A few more pix can be found in the photoblog.
Posted by callalillie at July 17, 2004 11:01 PM |
Great pictures. I keep talking about visiting Governor's Island, but never do.
Posted by: ccs178 (Chris) at July 18, 2004 3:19 AM
It's worth the trip ifyou have a litle time to kill. I must admit that it IS a touristy place-- you really need a park ranger to walk you around for the explanations and history piece. It would be neat if they let you into some of the buildings, as well, but apparently they have a dangerous mold problem.
Posted by: corie at July 18, 2004 8:22 AM
Nice photos! Did they say anything more about the Saturday trips? Like, can you wander around on your own? The tour is rushed and it is odd that they haven't coordinated with the ferry to provide an extra 15-30 mins.
Something to look forward to: Rooftop Films will be showing short movies on the island on the evening of August 6th.
Posted by: joe s at July 18, 2004 9:22 AM
You can wander, but there is only a specific area that you're allowed to cover (the esplanade, I think, and part of the grassy area on Colonel's Row. The park ranger that was "sweeping" the tour got on my case several times about lagging behind. it was really annoying. they would really benefit from handing out a self-tour guide and letting people walk around. we didn't get to walk on the airstrip or really walk around/look at the interior of Castle Williams and Fort Jay...very rushed.
Posted by: corie at July 18, 2004 9:31 AM
Beautiful! Didn't the state give the island to CUNY?
Posted by: mp at July 18, 2004 10:56 AM
That's what I thought, as well. The tour guide told us that they hadn't made any set decisions yet but have been accepting bids/ideas, including the CUNY proposal as well as one to build a convention center or rent out homes as bed and breakfasts.
Posted by: corie at July 18, 2004 4:17 PM
I'm jealous. I love islands - especially ones we are not allowed to explore. Mighty tempting.
Two little tidbits:
According to Red Hook lore, famers used to cross their cows over buttermilk channel from the Hook at low tide to the island to graze. This was before they drudged the waterway for the eventual big ships.
In late summer of 2001, there was a plan in the works to "invade" governor's island with a massive activist flotilla. Plans were cancelled after 9/11. I'm sure there are remants on line for the call to action.
Posted by: Alexis at July 18, 2004 7:10 PM
amazing pictures, i've been wondering when they were going to open it to the public. i remember senior year in '01 @ nyu that the school had plans for it as well (ie to add it to their empire). anyone know what happened to that? i hope they do something nice with it. hopefully some buildings will reopen as museums or historical sites accessible to the public after they clean up that mold.
Posted by: jason at July 18, 2004 8:20 PM
I love the fact that there is a "Buttermilk Channel." They should have nicknamed one of the islands "biscuit."
If you decide to go, do stop by the heliport a little further north. I bore lovely witness to the FBI unloading large black duffel bags and some sort of scope/sniper guns out of black vans and hustling into black a black helicopter. It was lovely, people, just lovely.
Posted by: corie at July 18, 2004 9:04 PM
Plans for the island are just beginning. The island is under two jurisdictions. The northern part that Corie toured is the National Monument and is operated by the National Park Service. The Park Service has until 2006 to come up with a management plan. Since it is a National Monument and also a National Historic Landmark District this part of the island will mainly be restored and maintained. The southern part of the island is under the jurisdiction of GIPEC (Governors Island Preservation and Education Corporation), a city-state partnership. The transfer from federal to local hands came with use restrictions (no casinos, manufacturing, etc.). Essentially it has to have an educational or cultural use. GIPEC will hold the first meeting seeking public input on the island on the 29th.
Posted by: joe s at July 18, 2004 10:51 PM
