governor's island

Governor's Island, as seen from the ferry crossing

Governor's Island, located about a half mile from the southern tip of Manhattan, and even closer to Brooklyn, has a very rich history:

• Sighted in 1524 by Giovanni da Verrazzano;
• Explored in 1609 by Henry Hudson;
• Settled in 1624 by the Dutch West India Company (and called "Noyten Eylant," or Nutten Island);
• Privately acquired in 1637 by the Dutch governor of New Netherland;
• Overtaken in 1664 by the British during their occupation of New Amsterdam;
• Renamed in 1698 to Governor's Island, for the “benefit and accommodation of His Majesty’s Governors";
• Occupied in April 1776 by George Washington and his rebel troops, and fortified that summer in preparation for battle with the British;
• Falls, in September 1776, to the British after the disastrous defeat at the Battle of Long Island (then known as the Battle of Brooklyn);
• Surrendered, in 1783, to the Americans at the close of the Revolution;
• Ceded in 1800 by New York to the United States. At about this time, construction begins to build up the island as a military post;
• Served, from 1861 to 1865, as both the central recruiting station for Civil War soldiers on the Eastern Seaboard and as a prison camp for captured Confederates;
• Hosted, in 1909, as the starting point for the first airplane flight over American waters. Wilbur Wright took off from the island, circling the Statue of Liberty once before returning;
• Was, from 1914 to 1918, a major supply base and embarkation point during the First World War;
• Served, from 1939 to 1945, as an administration center and the chief reception center during the Second World War;
• Was handed over, in 1966, by the U.S. Military to the U.S. Coast Guard;
• Was abandoned, in 1996, by the Coast Guard;
• Was purchased, in 2002, from the federal government by New York for only $1;
• Became, in 2003, a National Monument, open on weekends in the summer for visitors...

...which is why we chose this storied island as the destination for yesterday's excursion. We packed a picnic lunch, boarded the free ferry at Whitehall and South Streets in Lower Manhattan, a ride which, all told, only lasted seven minutes (but which didn't stop Garrett from enjoying every head-in-the-breeze moment of it),


and began our explorations of the island. Some of the highlights included:


An up close and personal view of one of Olafur Eliasson's famed NYC waterfalls. I tell you, this is an incredibly impressive form of public art.


Great views of Lower Manhattan, the Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Williamsburg bridges, and of course, Lady Liberty and Ellis Island. We enjoyed our picnic lunch in some pleasantly cool shade with impressive vistas in the company of buzzing cicadas -- a welcome change to the whir of hurried cars. Who knew an escape from the city was only a seven minute ferry ride away?


Stately buildings, such as these barracks along Colonel Row, which harked back to the days when the island was a military outpost. We also looked at and wandered in a few of them, including the impressive residence of the chief commanding officer.


Fort Jay, one of the military defenses on the island. The most fascinating spectacle Fort Jay had to offer was the magazine, or underground storage space for the arms and artillery.



The circular Castle Williams was, hands down, the most impressive defensive fort on Governor's Island. Built in the decade before the War of 1812, the stronghold was so commanding that its very presence on the island influenced the British to not attack New York during that war. During the Civil War, it served as a military prison for captured Confederate soldiers, and, in the years following, continued to simultaneously serve as both a military prison and a barracks.

Despite the unfortunate sunburn I received during the course of the day (the one outing I forget to don sunscreen for...), I give Governor's Island two thumbs up. We had a blast wandering around this serene piece of history. And this weekend was an especially appropriate time to visit because the parks service was commemorating the infamous Battle of Brooklyn, which was fought 232 years ago later this week, with various activities (none of which, unfortunately, we timed right enough to participate in). We plan to return again next summer and maybe then we'll take them up on their offer of inexpensive bike rentals and ride around the island.