Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Battery Park


Battery Park, NYC
  • Battery Park has been popular since the 18th century as a promenade to look out onto the Hudson, but for many decades served as a major defensive area in NYC.
  • "Evacuation Day" was celebrated in Battery Park after the departure of the remainder British troops after the American Revolution
  • After Battery Park was damaged in 9/11, "The Sphere" was moved from the center plaza of the World Trade Center to Battery Park, and stands along side the "Eternal Flame" as commemoration to those lives lost.

Revolutionary NYC Maps

Maps of Revolutionary NYC and the tour route


Maps 1 and 2: Schecter, Barnet. The Battle of New York: The City at the Heart of the American Revolution. Walker & Co. 2002. (17)

Maps 3 and 4:  Burrows, Edwin G. and Michael Wallace. Gotham: A History of New York City to 1898. Oxford University Press. 1999. (206)

Monday, October 3, 2011

Fort George/Customs House

  • Was Fort Amsterdam under Dutch rule
  • Renamed Fort George under British
  • Was target of Stamp Act protests
  • Later became site of US Customs House for NY harbor
  • Today is Museum of the Native American - see irony?
  • Please note: you can enlarge the images below using "Full screen."
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                         1. Fort George lithograph:
(viewed 10/3/11)
       2. Overview of Fort George:
Homberger, Eric. Historical Atlas of New York City. Henry Holt & Co. New York, 2005. (46)
       3. Museum photograph:
"NYC - Bowling Green: Alexander Hamilton Custom House." Photograph. Flickr. Wally Gobetz. 2011. Web. 3 Oct 2011. <http://www.flickr.com/photos/wallyg/348536274/>.