Fort Tilden

Coordinates: 40°34′N 73°53′W / 40.567°N 73.883°W / 40.567; -73.883
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
This article is about the former military installation. For the 2014 film, see Fort Tilden (film).
Fort Tilden
Part of
Harbor Defenses of Southern New York
Queens, New York
View of the abandoned fort in June 2020
Type
Site information
Controlled by
U.S. Army
Site history
Built1917–1924
In use1917–1995
Fort Tilden Historic District
New York, New York
Coordinates40°34′N 73°53′W / 40.567°N 73.883°W / 40.567; -73.883
Built1917
ArchitectU. S. Army
NRHP reference No.84002917
Added to NRHPApril 20, 1984[1]
Garrison information
Garrison5/5th Field Artillery, 187th Infantry Brigade (late 1960s through 1995)
A 16-inch gun in Panama, generally similar to the original installations at Fort Tilden in the 1920s.

Fort Tilden, also known as Fort Tilden Historic District, is a former United States Army installation on the coast in the New York City borough of Queens. Fort Tilden now forms part of the Gateway National Recreation Area, and is administered by the National Park Service.

Fort Tilden Historic District is located on the Rockaway Peninsula, between Jacob Riis Park to the east and Breezy Point Tip to the west. All three of these sites are operated by the National Park Service.[2]

Since its decommissioning, the former installation has largely become a natural area of beaches, dunes and maritime forest. Most of the old military installations are abandoned, and military structures which formerly housed artillery (batteries) and ammunition (magazines) are covered in graffiti. A few buildings have been renovated and are used by local arts groups, and some large open areas are used as sports grounds. Atop one of the old batteries, Battery Harris East, a viewing platform has 360-degree views that include the city, New York Harbor, and the Atlantic Ocean. The wilder parts of Fort Tilden are popular with bird-watchers and other nature-lovers, and the beach areas are frequently used for fishing.[3]

A view of the beach at Fort Tilden

Military history

The fort first served as a

Nike Ajax missile site. However, the historic gun batteries and other military fortifications remain closed to the public. Some of these structures are very hazardous.[4]

World War I

The fort was established as Camp Rockaway Beach shortly after the United States entered World War I in April 1917. Several temporary military installations had been built at or near the site since the War of 1812 against the British. It was named after Samuel J. Tilden, one-term Governor of New York State and Democratic Presidential candidate in 1876.

The first unit deployed to the fort was an unnamed battery from the

3-inch antiaircraft guns
was installed at the fort.

The facility became part of the

Harbor Defenses of Southern New York, joining Fort Hamilton and Fort Wadsworth on Staten Island. The railway mortars and their tracks were probably removed in 1921 to make room for Battery Harris.[7]

Inter-war period

In March 1921, the city of New York would become one of the first locations in the United States to be defended by

Fort Story.[8] The battery was named for Henry Leavenworth Harris, a career Army officer who died in 1920.[6]

World War II

In 1941–1942, a massive concrete

JFK Airport, but these were never built.[5]

Several smaller batteries were built in and near Fort Tilden during the war. Battery 220 was completed but not armed; it was primarily an ammunition bunker for two

90 mm dual-purpose guns. The 3-inch guns were all on pedestal mounts; the 90 mm AMTB batteries were authorized two fixed guns and two towed guns. Rockaway Point had AMTB 20 with two 3-inch M1902 guns and AMTB 21 with four 90 mm guns.[6] All six 3-inch guns for these batteries came from Battery Catlin at Fort Wadsworth, and AMTB 18 was also called Battery New Catlin.[9]

After the war it was determined that gun defenses were obsolete, and Fort Tilden was disarmed, with all guns removed for scrap in 1948.[6]

Cold War

In 1950, as the fear of Soviet air attack grew, a battalion of sixteen

120 mm guns were at the fort 1952–55.[7][10]

In 1955, the AA guns were replaced by a

Nike-Hercules missile in 1958. The Nike–Hercules system was deactivated throughout the US in 1972.[7]

Army Reserve post

From the late 1960s until at least 1978, Fort Tilden was an

Signal Corps unit, the 411th Engineer Brigade, and an Army Reserve self-propelled 8" howitzer battalion, originally the 5/51st Field Artillery (FA) and renamed in the early 70's the 7/9th FA. From the late 1960s until the 1980s, Fort Tilden served as a United States Army Reserve post, with the 187th Infantry Brigade's 5/5th FA; a towed 105 mm howitzer battalion stationed there until the 187th was deactivated in 1995. Fort Tilden was also the location of the 411th Engineer Brigade
, which was headquartered there from 1968 to 1978.

Fort Tilden remained an Army installation until the late 1970s, when it was decommissioned and turned over to the

Battery Harris
.

Nature area

Fort Tilden is an important nesting area for the threatened

Piping Plover, a species which NPS—as part of a large global effort—is working to protect.[11] The eggs and chicks are very small and highly camouflaged, so they are extremely difficult to see. It is very easy to step on the eggs and kill the unhatched chicks. "Under New York and Federal laws persons may be arrested and fined for killing, harassing, teasing, or in any way disturbing birds nesting in this area."[12] Keep out of areas delineated by string fences and signs.[4]

Common terns[13] and least terns[14] also make their nests on the beach at Fort Tilden. These two species are threatened in New York State as well.

See also

References

  1. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. April 15, 2008.
  2. ^ New York Harbor Map National Parks of New York Harbor Conservancy. Accessed November 18, 2008
  3. ^ Kilgannon, Corey. To the Battlements, and Take Sunscreen: The Joys of Fort Tilden. July 21, 2006. New York Times. Accessed November 18, 2008.
  4. ^ a b PDF of Gateway NRA rules
  5. ^ a b c d Berhow, p. 209
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Fort Tilden at FortWiki.com
  7. ^ a b c d e f g Fort Tilden website archived from Geocities at web.archive.org
  8. ^ Smith, Bolling. "The 16-inch Batteries at San Francisco and the Evolution of the Casemated 16-inch Battery" (PDF). The Coast Defense Journal. 15 (1): 16–83. Retrieved 4 February 2016.
  9. ^ Berhow, p. 210
  10. ^ Fort Tilden at American Forts Network
  11. ^ "Why Piping Plovers Come to Gateway". nps.gov.
  12. ^ Photo of warning sign about birds
  13. ^ "Common Tern Fact Sheet". ny.gov.
  14. ^ "Least Tern Fact Sheet". ny.gov.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Fort Tilden Historic District.
  • Fort Tilden Visitor information
  • Historic American Engineering Record
    (HAER) documentation, filed under 169 Breezy Point Boulevard, Roxbury, Queens County, NY:
    • HAER No. NY-566-A, "Fort Tilden, Battery Kessler", 5 photos, 1 color transparency, 5 measured drawings, 20 data pages, 1 photo caption page
    • HAER No. NY-566-B, "Fort Tilden, Battery 220", 5 photos, 2 color transparencies, 5 measured drawings, 19 data pages, 1 photo caption page
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