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National Park Service Hosts Civil War Weekend Aug. 8-9
We are happy to report the Governors Island National Monument will be hosting the annual Civil War Weekend August 8 and 9 this month. The island fills with scores of living history enthusiasts that bring the 1860s to the park. The National Park Service and volunteers are joined by dozens of Civil War re-enactors in uniform. See camp life, watch cannon and rifle demonstrations, and learn about the history of Governors Island when it was an important Army post. All of the activities are centered around the National Monument at Fort Jay, Castle Williams, and the Soldiers Camp nearby. Free tours of Fort Jay and Castle Williams are offered. For…
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National Park Service Announces 2015 Island Schedule
The Governors Island National Monument is maintained by the National Park Service. Rangers are available for tours throughout the summer. Castle Williams and Fort Jay will be open daily all season. Times and programs will vary during the season. The following programs will be available May 23 to June 12. Explore Castle Williams Daily. Courtyard open 10 AM until 4:30 PM. Tours every hour from 11:30 AM till 3:30 PM. About 30 minutes. Get some history in the round at the best-preserved circular fortification in the nation. On weekends the Castle is open until 5:30 PM with an additional tour at 4:30 PM. Experience Fort Jay: An Island Star! Courtyard…
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Full 2013 Island Schedule Announced
The Trust for Governors Island today announced the wide range of festivals, events and performances in its 2013 public access season. Programming will take place throughout the Island’s Historic District. Ferries will once again bring visitors from Manhattan and Brooklyn and visitors can also take the East River Ferry to the Island. Governors Island is open every Saturday, Sunday and Holiday Monday (Memorial Day and Labor Day) from May 25 through September 29. New exhibitions and programs include WW II & NYC: Photography and Propaganda, presented by the New York Historical Society, which will paint a vivid picture of life in war-mobilized New York through photographs, posters and a Victory Garden. In conjunction with the…
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Big Changes for 2012 on Island
I’m back to writing about Governors Island as the new season is upon us. The 2012 season will feature drastic cuts in programs and access to the island, which is only open on Saturdays and Sundays (plus Memorial Day and Labor Day) beginning May 26. Visitors must make do with 30 days this season to see the island. The National Park Service provides limited access to the island on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays (June-Sept.), but a ranger accompanies visitors at all times. No Friday afternoon solo bike rides to Picnic Point this year. A limited amount of construction work on the island took place in the off-season, however, no old…
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Vintage Cannonball Found by Ferry Dock
A bit of the island’s past came to life and brought scores of emergency responders to investigate a 14-inch, 350-pound cannonball found this week. It was discovered by workers underwater outside the seawall at the ferry dock, as construction continues to rebuild the access point for the 2012 season. According to The Post, the 19th Century projectile was found February 2 by workers doing construction near Soissons Dock, where the ferries from Manhattan access the island, said Elizabeth Rapuano, chief of staff for the city-run Trust for Governors Island. A member of the New York Police Department said, “They were digging in the water with a backhoe, removing muck and mud, when this thing…
