THE BATTERY

Description

Essentials about The Battery in brief

The Battery (formerly called Battery Park) is a ten-acre park on the southern tip of Manhattan and one of the oldest parks in New York City. Most tourists know The Battery only as the starting point of the ferries to the Statue of Liberty on Liberty Island, to Ellis Island, to Staten Island and in summer also to Govenors Island. But the park is also worth a walk for its many attractions and especially its breathtaking view of New York Bay and the Statue of Liberty.

The history of The Battery

The park takes its name from the Dutch gun batteries that were once posted here to defend what was then the port of New Amsterdam. Due to siltation and fill created by the construction of the former World Trade Center, the current shoreline has advanced somewhat and the park has been enlarged by about two acres.

The Battery should be seen not only as a transit stop to the ferries, but also because of the many attractions located on the park grounds. First and foremost is Castle Clinton, which was built as a fort in the early 19th century, but was transformed into the world’s first immigration center in 1855 as part of mass immigration to the United States. Before this function was taken over by Ellis Island at the end of the 19th century, millions of immigrants were processed at Castle Clinton. From 1896 to 1941, the New York Aquarium was housed in Castle Clinton; it was then renovated and is now home to a small museum as well as the ticket office for the ferries.

Monuments in The Battery

In addition, there are several memorials in The Battery. The East Coast Memorial commemorates the American soldiers who died in battles on the Atlantic Ocean during World War II. The memorial consists of eight granite slabs, nearly six feet high, engraved with the names of the 4,609 fallen soldiers. The American Merchant Mariners’ Memorial depicts a drowning sailor reaching for the saving hand of one of three sailors on a lifeboat. The memorial is inspired by a photograph of a sinking merchant ship after a World War II submarine attack. It commemorates all members of the U.S. Merchant Marine since the War of Independence. Another war memorial commemorates those who died in the Korean War.

A particularly poignant memorial is called “The Immigrants.” The sculpture depicts people of different ethnic groups and centuries, including an Eastern European Jew, a freed African slave, a clergyman and a laborer. The expressive poses of the figures emphasize the incredible effort involved in immigrating to the United States for many people. Also worth seeing is the monument to the sailor Giovani da Verrazano, the first European to sail into New York City harbor and set eyes on The Battery in 1524.

Further attractions in The Battery

On the northern edge of The Battery is the Museum of Jewish Heritage, which is well worth a detour for people interested in Jewish history and culture. And if you like to eat with a view, you should definitely get a table at Pier A Harbor House. The chic restaurant scores with a fabulously beautiful view of the Statue of Liberty and magnificent sunsets in the evening.