Fort Tilden

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Overview map with the Fort Tilden peninsula (middle of the map)
Bunker Harris , formerly a position for 16-inch guns, 2012

Fort Tilden is a former fort between Jamaica Bay and the Atlantic Ocean , in the New York borough of Queens in the USA . Located roughly in the middle of the approximately 15 km long Rockaway Peninsula , which is part of Long Island , it is now a protected landscape and belongs to the Gateway National Recreation Area (GNR). Fort Tilden is administered by the National Park Service together with the two adjacent protected areas Breezy Point in the west and the Jacob Riis Park immediately to the east . Since April 20, 1984, the fort is listed as a Historic District on the National Register of Historic Places . The approximately 1.8 km² land area is open to the public, but the historic cannon batteries and other military fortifications are still closed to the public as they still harbor potential hazards.

Since the military shutdown in 2014, most of the area - especially the area to the west - has been forested or covered with bushes , the former military facilities have been cleared and gutted and are now covered with graffiti. Few buildings have been preserved and are used by local artist groups. The open spaces to the east have been converted for baseball and soccer . The fine, white sandy beach is particularly popular. In contrast to most other public beaches in New York, there is no infrastructure here such as toilets, changing rooms, snack bars, sea rescue etc.

The name is reminiscent of the popular governor of New York , Samuel J. Tilden , who, as a Democrat, carried out numerous reforms and a successful fight against corruption.

history

Plan of the base, 1935

The site has been continuously upgraded in its almost 100-year history . The location was moved into shortly after the USA entered the First World War in April 1917 under the name Camp Rockaway Beach with the installation of coastal artillery . This area had already been used by military units in the war against the British in 1812. A little later, the US Army Coast Artillery Corps' national defense units added their first positions with four 12-inch coastal defense mortars and then two batteries with two 6-inch M1900 cannons on socket brackets that had been transferred from other positions. The shells could penetrate light armor on ship decks and flew up to 6.8 miles. In 1919/20 the fixed mounts were replaced by railway mortars. In the years 1918-1919 a battery with two 3-inch anti-aircraft guns was installed in the fortress .

After the war, the fort became part of the New York South Port Defense , connecting Fort Hamilton and Fort Wadsworth on Staten Island, and went into operation in 1924. Railway tracks originally laid for construction to supply material were removed by 1921. The city of New York was viewed as a very likely target by hostile powers. The defense efforts were correspondingly high. In 1921, under the name Battery Harris, it also became the first place in the United States that could be defended by 16-inch cannons, the largest existing weapon in the arsenal.

During the Second World War, it was considered necessary to protect the cannons, which had previously been placed in the open air, from possible air attacks with a massive concrete casemate . This building is still preserved today and is maintained by the National Park Service. More guns were added. Around Fort Tilden there were also upgrading and replacement of older by newer weapon systems in neighboring positions. After the war, the weapons used were considered obsolete and were scrapped, but as early as 1950, at the beginning of the Cold War , Fort Tilden was armed again. Sixteen 90mm cannons came to the site, which was renamed Site NY-43 as part of the U.S. air defense system and remained active until 1954. In addition, another 90 mm battery with four cannons was stationed in the fortress from 1951 to 1954, and two 120 mm batteries with four cannons from 1952 to 1955.

The anti-aircraft cannons were replaced by a Nike Ajax missile station called Site NY-49 in 1955 and upgraded three years later with Nike Hercules missiles capable of nuclear weapons . In the course of the discontinuation of the Nike-Hercules system in 1972, the systems located here were also scrapped.

From 1960 Fort Tilden was converted into a reserve post and maintained until at least 1978. The headquarters of the 411th Brigade of the United States Army Signal Corps , which operated self-propelled 8-inch howitzers , was now stationed here . In 1978 the brigade was disbanded.

Nature reserve

Fort Tilden is home to the endangered yellow-footed plover ( Charadrius melodus ), which has its breeding grounds here. Both eggs and chicks are extremely difficult to see because of their camouflage pattern and can therefore easily be trodden on by humans. It is therefore illegal to enter some areas that are marked with low fences and signs within the entire reserve. Common terns and American little terns , which are also endangered in New York State, nest right on the beach .

vegetation

The dune-like landscape is characterized by plants typical of the location. As indicator plants are loud Service National Park in particular:

lemma Botanical name Park-specific name Classification
Black pine Pinus nigra Japanese Black Pine Forest Pine family
Myrica Myrica pensylvanica North Atlantic Coast Backdune Grassland Gelaceae family
Late blooming bird cherry Prunus serotina Successional Maritime Forest Rose plants
Windlass Smilax glauca North Atlantic Coastal Plain Vine Dune Stinging bindweed
Common ball of grass Dactylis glomerata Northeastern Old Field Sweet grasses
Samphire Salicornia maritima Salt breakdown (Salicornia type) Foxtail family

Myrica pensylvanica is described as particularly valuable because it settles on dunes at this location, which - as far as is known - only occur in this form in New Jersey and Long Island. Here the plant grows on old dunes that have remained stable for decades. It is therefore well-rooted, while it has to germinate again and again elsewhere.

Trivia

In 2014 a film romance of the same name was released.

See also

Web links

Commons : Fort Tilden  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Fort Tilden Historic District on the National Register Information System. National Park Service , accessed August 19, 2019.
  2. ^ Corey Kilgannon: To the Battlements, and Take Sunscreen: The Joys of Fort Tilden . New York Times , July 21, 2006
  3. ↑ Fort Tilden's 12-inch Mortar Battery . In: The History of Fort Tilden, NY , October 21, 2000, Internet Archive
  4. ↑ Photo of a warning sign on the fence.
  5. ^ Vegetation Classification and Mapping at Gateway National Recreation Area. Technical Report NPS / NER / NRTR-2008/107 . National Park Service, Northeast Region Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, p. 236
  6. ↑ Fort Tilden English Movie HD Online , Youtube

Coordinates: 40 ° 33 ′ 40 "  N , 73 ° 53 ′ 45"  W.