Fort Totten, Queens

Fort Totten Park is a former United States Army installation in Bayside, Queens on the north shore of Long Island. Decommissioned as a military base in the 1970s, Fort Totten is located at the head of Little Neck Bay where the East River widens to become the Long Island Sound. Although the United States Army Reserve maintains a presence since 1974, the property is currently owned by the City of New York.

Fort Totten Flag Bearers
New York Public Library

Construction began in 1862 after the United States government purchased the land from the Willet family. The former federal military base was composed of 93 acres. Plans for the Civil War-era project were initially prepared by Captain Robert E. Lee in 1857. Construction was undertaken five years later to protect the eastern approach of New York Harbor from the Confederate States, along with Fort Schuyler across the East River in the Bronx.

The fort was named for General Joseph Gilbert Totten (1788-1864), Chief Engineer of the United States Army, regent of the Smithsonian Institution, and co-founder of the National Academy of Sciences.

The Willet's farmhouse, built in 1829, is located within the complex but predates the military installation. Also notable within the site is the historic fort itself, a 19th century artillery battery.

Fort Totten
New York Public Library

The fort's defensive facilities quickly became obsolete and was repurposed in 1864 for casualty care. The Fort Totten Army Hospital has been vacant since 1965 and was first known as the Post Hospital and later renamed for Dr. Walter Reed.

In 1987 the United States Department of Defense transferred 10 acres of land at Fort Totten to the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation as a gift for Bayside area parkland.

Men Marching Fort Totten
New York Public Library

In 2001, the majority of the Fort came under the jurisdiction of the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation - nearly 61 acres. The remainder is operated by the New York Fire Department and New York Police Department as a training center. St. John's University and the Bayside Historical Society also use facilities on-site such as Fort Totten's former Officer's Club.

Stuyvesant Square Park, Manhattan

Stuyvesant Square (1930) New York Public Library Stuyvesant Square Park is a park spanning from East 15th Street north to East 17th Street and from Rutherford Place east to Nathan D. Perlman Place. The square is commonly thought to be named for Peter Stuyvesant, the last of the Dutch Director-General of the colony of New Netherlands until it was ceded to English control in 1664. It is actually named for Peter Gerard Stuyvesant. Stuyvesant Square (1905) Museum of the City of New York The park lies within what was the Stuyvesant family farm. The farm once stretched from the Bowery to the East River and from 3rd Street to 14th Street. The park itself is in the approximate location of the original Stuyvesant family mansion. Randel Farm Map 1818-1820 In 1836, Peter Gerard Stuyvesant and his wife Hellen Rutherford reserved four acres of the family farm and sold it to the City of New York for $5 as a public park, with the proviso that the City of New York build a fen

Kingsbridge Armory, The Bronx

Looking west at the Kingsbridge Armory on July 21, 1914. Museum of the City of New York Kingsbridge Armory Also known as the Eighth Regiment Armory located on West Kingsbridge Road. It was built in the 1910s to house the National Guard's Eighth Coastal Artillery Regiment which relocated from Manhattan in 1917. Possibly the largest armory in the World. After World War II, the City offered it to the United Nations as a temporary meeting place. Looking northeast at the Kingsbridge Armory on July 18, 1914 Museum of the City of New York In 1911, the New York State Legislature authorized construction of the Armory using an excavated area that was planned to have been the eastern basin for Jerome Park Reservoir. Some military artifacts were unearther in the area, believed to have been from nearby Revolutionary War forts including Independence and Number Five. After the second world war, the City offered it's use to the United Nations General

Greenwich Village, Manhattan

Greenwich Village or "The Village" extends from Houston north to West 14th Street and from Broadway west to the Hudson River. Greenwich is Anglicized from the Dutch Greenwijck (meaning pine district) into the same name as the borough of London. Greenwich Village May, 1868 New York City Department of Records Greenwich Village has many streets named for Revolutionary War heroes: Alexander McDougall New York Public Library MacDougal Street - named for Alexander McDougall (1731-1786) a leader of the Sons of Liberty, major general in the Continental Army, a NY State Senator and the first President of New York Bank. Hugh Mercer New York Public Library Mercer Street - named for Hugh Mercer (1726-1777) a Brigadier General and close friend of George Washington. Died as a result of wounds received in the Battle of Princeton. Thompson Street - named for William Thompson (1736-1781) a Brigadier General of the War. David Wooster

5 Boros: A History of Places

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