- Battery Park received its name for the battery of cannon that were mounted along the the sidewalk opposing the Custom House between 1683 and 1688.
- Most of the park was built on a land fill which grew in size throughout the years.
- A famous statue by Fritz Koenig called Sphere now sits in Battery Park, but it used to be in the plaza of the World Trade Center. It was damaged during 9/11 but eventually salvaged an relocated.
- The park is about 25 acres.
- Before Ellis Island, Battery Park housed the first official station of immigration in a structure that was previously used as a fort and called Castle Garden.
Information Sources:
Hamill, Pete. "Downtown: My Manhattan". 4th ed. NYC: Time Warner Book Group, 2004. 27-32.
"Battery Park." New York Department of Parks & Recreation. New York City Department of Parks & Recreation, n.d. Web. 07 Oct 2011. .
"History of the Battery." The Battery Conservatory. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Oct 2011. .
Picture Sources:
http://www.museumplanet.com/tour.php/nyc/bp/6
Thank you, Lauren, for posting a much better quality map than I did earlier! Can you follow on this map the route of our tour? I find it almost incredible that what we covered today was the ENTIRE CITY at the time of the Revolution. The rest of the island was essentially farmland or still wild.
ReplyDeleteI thought it was really amazing that this statue was one of the only things that survived the attacks on 9/11. I also thought that it was fascinating how this statue represents peace even though it was damaged during the attacks. I feel like this statue in a way represents hope for peace in the future.
ReplyDeleteThe irony of how the structure was damaged during 9/11 and how the structure is supposed to represent peace. I think that though the peace monument was damaged, I think this is symbolic in that even in the most peaceful world chaos still occurs as we all know with 9/11
ReplyDeletei thought that the structure was really cool since it has been through the 911 attack and has been damaged by all the smoke. It is a very significant sculpture. The city was mainly farmland, which was not that big, but throughout the years the city kept on growing.
ReplyDeleteAfter knowing the story of "Sphere" (thanks Lauren), I was struck by looking at the statue with the Freedom Tower in the background under construction and reaching into the clouds. Seems like a symbol of hope and recovery.
ReplyDeleteHere's a picture of that, which I took:
https://plus.google.com/u/1/114890399006791846298/posts/RiGHU1h8wkH?hl=en
(I'm thinking one of you who had a real camera might have taken a better shot.)
The fact that this statue was able to not only survive the attacks but also prosper into a very symbolic piece of art represents our country and how not only did we move on from the attacks of September 11 but as a whole our nation came together and became more patriotic.
ReplyDeleteI particularly liked this site because of the shape of the monument. I really liked the fact that no one wanted to rebuild the globe, but leave it the way it was. This approach was very significant people people wanted to remember and remind others the raw truth of what had happened on September 11.
ReplyDeleteI found it really interesting that this was the only structure that survived the attacks, and I think this unique monument gives people hope, that not everything was lost and destroyed on 9/11.
ReplyDeleteI agree with some of the other comments. The sphere was really a stunning stop. Im glad that Lauren had us stop there to do the presentation.
ReplyDelete