{"nrhp_refnum":"66000537","name":"Castle Clinton National Monument","other_names":["Castle Clinton","Castle Garden"],"category":"structure","location":{"address":"South Ferry","address_restricted":false,"city":"New York","county":"Manhattan","state":"NY","lat":40.703541511000026,"lon":-74.01663258099995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1966-10-15","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Community Planning and Development","Military","Entertainment/Recreation","Social History"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Castle Clinton is a circular brownstone fort in Battery Park at the southern tip of Manhattan, New York City, built 1808-1811 as West Battery by the U.S. War Department, with John McComb, Jr. named as architect. It is now a National Monument run by the National Park Service.","why_significant":"The nomination argues it links New York's colonial past to the young American nation and illustrates American military, urban and immigration history. It was a defense fort, then the Castle Garden entertainment venue, then the principal immigrant reception center from 1855 to 1890, then an aquarium. It was later saved from demolition and restored.","narrative":"Castle Clinton is a round fort of reddish brownstone at the southern tip of Manhattan in Battery Park. Built between 1808 and 1811 as West Battery to strengthen New York's sea defenses, it was renamed for wartime mayor DeWitt Clinton after the War of 1812. It later changed uses several times. As Castle Garden from 1824 it hosted opera, concerts and receptions for guests such as Lafayette, and Jenny Lind made her American concert debut there in 1850. From 1855 to 1890 it served as the nation's main immigrant reception center, even after a fire in 1876 gutted the interior. In 1896 it became the New York Aquarium, which stayed until 1941. Facing demolition for the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel, it was saved by citizens' groups and made a National Monument. The National Park Service restored it to its early military look, with walls eight feet thick and a one-story open design.","period_of_significance":"1808-1821","architect_builder":"John McComb; U.S. War Department","architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"Public museum and park site under National Park Service administration, in good condition and restored to its early nineteenth-century military appearance.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:50:38.608458-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/66000537.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/66000537/1ff0c9af57-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/66000537/1ff0c9af57-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Unknown authorUnknown author","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Habs_castle_clinton.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Unknown authorUnknown author</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Habs_castle_clinton.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75319348","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q12183776"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/manhattan/castle-clinton-national-monument-66000537/"}