Monday, December 2, 2024

Fort Totten

New York City is littered with the military history -- places like Governor's Island, the Armories on Park Avenue and Central Park, Snug Harbor, Fort Hamilton, plus multiple recruiting stations around town. 

Easily the most fascinating of all of NYC's historical military sites is Fort Totten out in northeast Queens. Built during the Civil War, it was a fortress to protect the city. 

Today it is a multi-use park by the city, state, and US military -- the Army and Coast Guard still hold "exercises" there but, in addition to a lot of green space, there are historic houses, reseach centers, and even a public pool. There's really no other park or public space in the city quite like it and, in summer, it's a wonderful place to stroll around, look at great views of the Manhattan skyline in the distance, and be in a place that is at once historic but, at the same time, very much thriving in the present. 

P.S. I went to Fort Totten in in 2019 when an Iron Throne was snuck in there for a promotional event -- but sadly the lines were too long and we couldn't sit on it. But it was a cool moment in cultural history, never to be repeated. 

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