New York City Guide

Battery Park

Battery Park is located at the southern tip of Manhattan island. Overlooking New York Harbour, this is where the Circle Line ferries can be found for visits to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. The Atlantic Ocean, the East River, and the Hudson River all meet here so it can become quite windy at times. Ferries for Staten Island can be found just a short stroll along the esplanade.

In Battery Park can be found Castle Clinton, a fort built to defend the island of Manhattan from an attack from the direction of the Atlantic Ocean, but in the end its cannon were never fired in anger. It originally stood on an island 200 feet from shore, until a landfill later connected it to the mainland. The red sandstone, "D" shaped fort became the Castle Garden entertainment centre in 1824. Since that time, Castle Clinton has functioned as an opera house, an aquarium, and a processing centre for more than 8 million immigrants prior to moving the immigration processing centre to Ellis Island. It was designated a national monument in 1946, and now serves as the ticket centre for ferries to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty.

The first picture shows The Sphere, a 22-ton bronze sculpture by Fritz Koenig that was recovered from the rubble of the World Trade Centre. Situated near the Bowling Green entrance, The Sphere was placed there on March 11th, 2002, six months after the tragic events of 9/11. On September 11th 2002, an eternal flame was added. The second picture shows The Sphere in its original position at the base of the World Trade Centre's two towers.

There are about two dozen monuments, statues, and public works of art installed in Battery Park, one is the Coast Guard Memorial, it serves as a memorial to the men and women who served the country in World War II. It depicts two heroic figures carrying a wounded person. Other noteworthy monuments within the park includes a bronze statue of Vermont's famous civil war General William W. Wells, and a red oak sculpture acknowledging the heritage of the American Indian. It has been given the name of "Greylock" after a renowned Indian chief. There is also a statue of Giovanni da Verrazano, the Florentine merchant who in 1524 piloted the ship that first sighted New York and its harbour. Plus a Memorial in the form of a statue of an eagle that presides over eight granite slabs inscribed with the names of U.S. servicemen who died in the western Atlantic during World War II.