Fort Wadsworth

Underneath the Verrazanno Narrows Bridge, linking Brooklyn with Staten Island, sits Fort Wadsworth.  One of Americas oldest military sites, this cluster of old granite and concrete fortifications actively stood watch over New York Harbor for almost 200 years.  Funny that it’s easy for so many New Yorkers to overlook!

View Overlooking Fort Wadsworth with the Verrazanno Bridge Towering in Background

Today you can take ranger-led or self guided tours while enjoying panoramic views of NYC. Walking tours sponsored by the National Park Service take you through catacomb-like passageways, close along several crumbling batteries and the 35-foot walls of Fort Tompkins, where Union soldiers once stood watch over the Narrows for Confederate interlopers.  Just down a steep hill sits Battery Weed, a U-shaped 4-story stronghold where lines of rust encrust its outer granite walls from the iron-edged holes that once allowed more than 100 cannons to poke through.

Inside, an interactive visitor center includes visual and audio exhibits simulating military exercises that took place on the grounds throughout the decades. Near Battery Weed, tracks emerge from a burned-out building that once stored mines that were planted under water during both World Wars.  Less like a formalized historical site and more like a place that feels like you’re the first to make the discovery, Fort Wadsworth is definitely worth the long bus ride.

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Take the S51 bus from the Staten Island Ferry terminal to the main entrance on Bay St..  Open Wednesday through Sunday 10-4:30.  Free Admission.  718-354-4500

photo courtesy of the National Park Service