Battery Park, New York

The historic Battery Park (The Battery) is a public park located at the southern tip of Manhattan Island. Since the first European settlement in the 17th century, the area was used for defense of the urban settlement and fortifications were built until the early 19th century.

The park was created in 1823 and contains many monuments, historic buildings and beautiful promenades. From the first European settlement in the 17th century to the early 19th century, this area was dedicated to defense. Fort Amsterdam was built in 1626 and served as the administrative headquarters for the Dutch West India Company.

In the 17th century, when it was called Capske Hook by Dutch settlers, there was artillery batteries in the area to protect the settlement in Manhattan. On April 27, 1686, the area was designated property of the City of New York by the Dongan Charter. The West Battery, later Fort Clinton, was completed in 1811.

The opening of the Erie Canal, in 1825, boosted even more the development of New York. In the 1830s, the Battery was considered one of the finest public walks in the country in warm weather. The southwest expansion of the Battery was completed by 1850 by landfill.

In 1855, the Castle Garden, became the Immigration Station. This former naval fortification has changed overtime. In 1896, it reopened as the New York Aquarium.

In 1870-1871, the park was entirely renovated and a small stretch of asphalt pavement was laid in Battery Park. It was then easily accessible from remote parts of the city by the elevated railway, which extended to South Ferry. More: The Battery in the 19th Century ►

In 1941, the Aquarium was relocated to Coney Island. Demolition of the old structure began, but it was halted in 1942 after strong protests by historic preservationists. Only the outer stone walls were left standing.

In 1941, the construction on the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel began. It was completed and opened to the public in 1950.

On August 12, 1946, the U.S. Congress passed a bill authorizing the Department of Interior to declare Castle Clinton a National Monument. Demolition is halted. The Castle was restored to its original design by the National Park Service and reopened, in 1975, as Castle Clinton National Monument.

The Roman Catholic Shrine of St. Elizabeth Ann Bayley Seton at 8 State Street, facing Battery Park, was built in 1964.

In 1994, the Battery Conservancy was founded to rebuild and revitalize the park and the Castle Clinton National Monument. The Battery Promenade was rebuilt in 1996. On September 15, 1997, the Museum of Jewish Heritage, a living memorial to the Holocaust, opened to the public at 36 Battery Place.