More pictures in link
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...tress-guarded-New-York-harbour-Civil-War.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Totten_(New_York)
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...tress-guarded-New-York-harbour-Civil-War.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Totten_(New_York)
Pictured: Inside the abandoned military fortress that guarded New York harbour during the Civil War
It was built to guard New York Harbor from the Confederates during the Civil War.
But the embrasures that anchored cannons to the stone floors of Fort Totten, in Queens, New York never faced enemy fire.
One hundred and fifty years after the fortress went under construction, its eroding walls are a haunting reminder of American history.
The Endicotts: Batteries at Fort Totten, built in 1885-1903, once featured rear-loaded disappearing guns
Overgrown: Today, the batteries are guarded by a chain link fence, and are closed off to the public
Haunting: A dimly lit tunnel that runs 374ft between the magazines and the water battery was built to transport munitions by rail
Plans for the Fort Totten Water Battery at Willet's Point were initially prepared by Captain Robert E Lee in 1857. After Congress appropriated $155,000 for its construction, the first block of granite was laid - five years later.
Its bluestone and granite walls were built to withstand attack in defence of an eastern approach into New York Habor.
Construction on the battery employed 400 workers, each earning a wage of $3.00 per day. But soon after its completion, advances in fortification design made it obsolete as a defensive structure.
Ghostly images captured by photographers Ethan Pisz and Ezra Peace show the fortress, and its crumbling surroundings, in an incredible state of disrepair.
Today, stalactites hang from its archways, and a single replica cannon remains.
Historic: Construction began on Fort Totten in 1862, five years after the federal government purchased the land from the Willets family
Into the dark: Archways extend for yards along the coastline
Weaponry: Rodman Guns like this one could fire a 350lb shell more than 5,000 yards, and took 12 men to load and fire
Beside it, on the second floor bastion, a crater clings to a shell of rifle artillery shot through a small window during test firing in 1864.
The damage inflicted was so extensive battlefield engineers abandoned the project altogether.
Behind its walls, winding tunnels lead the way to torpedo magazines and abandoned artillery rooms.
Graffiti tags line the walls and cave crickets hang from archways, illuminated only by a lantern.
Urban Park Ranger Mark Sanchez, who gave MailOnline a tour of the battery, recounted how the cavernous artillery rooms became a haven for vandals in the Seventies, when security was more relaxed.
Six batteries, built between 1885 and 1903 as a second line of defence, stand crippled and weather-beaten behind the battery. Uprooted trees are shouldered by much of the mortar structure, left after a century of hurricanes and tornadoes ripped through the area.
Crumbling: A row of abandoned homes used by blacksmiths and other craftsman behind fort walls
Machinery: Corroded and forgotten, equipment remains inside another house on Fort Totten
Ghostly: A New York City Urban Parks Ranger Mark Sanchez leads the way inside a tunnel behind the battery
On the sprawling land beyond their walls winding paths lead to dozens of houses, many now operated by the New York police and fire departments, the U.S. Coast Guard, Parks and Recreation and a handful of non-profits.
The land had last served as a U.S. Army Reserve post in 1974, after a century of housing army schools and artillery headquarters.
After nearly two decades of community lobbying efforts for a new Bayside area park, in 1987 New York City and Parks accepted the gift of ten acres of surplus Fort Totten land from the U.S. Department of Defence. The land officially closed as a base in 1995.
Park Administrator Janice Melnick now shares the Commanding Officer's House - a two-and-one-half story, single-family house constructed in 1909 - with four full-time staff, who use it as their office.
Entrance: A newly-erected sign guides the way into Fort Totten, near Bayside in Queens County
Never before seen: An archive photo shows an entrance to the fort
Ramshackle: Once bachelor's quarters, another building on the land is now abandoned and awaiting restoration
Down Weaver Avenue, Bayside Historical Society archivist Alison McKay spends most of her days operating alone inside the restored Fort Totten Officer's Club.
Both admit working at a base with so much history can be shiver-inducing.
Ms Melnick, who has worked at Fort Totten since 2004, told MailOnline: 'The first few months was especially [haunting]. I was often the last one in the building at night. During the day it was fine but at night you hear things.
'They're 100-year-old buildings and they creak. For the longest time I was like, I'm out of the door at 5 o'clock! It's about the safest place I've ever worked. But it doesn't take the creep factor out of it.'
Commanding Officer's House: A two-and-one-half story, T-shaped single-family house was constructed in 1909 as quarters for the commanding officer of Fort Totten
Captivating: The Commanding Officer's House pictured while the fort was still in use
Attention: Soldiers stand in orderly rows on the main lawn
A century ago: Officers salute after a parade on the lawn
Fire practice: A cannon smokes as soldiers gather more ammunition
Risky: A soldier stands in front of a cannon in this undated photo
After the war: A military band pictured in front of a 19th century building on the fort, circa 1890
Location: An archive photo of Fort Totten, which sits on the north shore of Long Island, on a peninsula named Willets Point
Much of the property, Ms Melnick said, is landmark eligible. And there are plans for restoration underway.
But the process, she said, can take years - and hundreds of thousands of dollars to replicate the original structures.
'The floors all have to be original... the paint has to be brushed on,' she said, pointing out the crackled paint, falling shingles and corroding iron from where the Commander once stood to salute.
Until then, a sign stands before the crumbling Willet's Farmhouse: 'Please Excuse My Appearance! I Am A Candidate For Historical Preservation.'
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...New-York-harbour-Civil-War.html#ixzz1nJaDZcR7
