Fortress New York

Working at the intersection of urban and military history, this tour will look at how lower Manhattan’s development was influenced by the need to fortify New York during its early centuries. So much of the history of New York involves big plans that did not pan out exactly as initially envisioned but nonetheless wound up shaping the city in profound ways. Well that goes, too, for plans developed to meet a perceived military necessity. Everyone’s heard the story about Wall Street, but there is also Battery Park, Castle Clinton, and Ellis, Liberty and Governor’s islands. Through reflections on these and other nearby sites you will see how, long ago, urban planning in New York was centrally concerned with how to defend the city against its enemies.