{"nrhp_refnum":"74001249","name":"Casemate Fort, Whiting Quadrangle","other_names":["Officers Club Bldg. #207","Sentry Booth #220"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Fort Hamilton, off NY 27","address_restricted":false,"city":"New York","county":"Brooklyn","state":"NY","lat":40.608633412000074,"lon":-74.03226813099997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1974-08-07","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Military","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A C-shaped stone and brick casemate fort (the \"Old Casemate Fort\") at Fort Hamilton in Brooklyn, designed in 1819 and built between 1825 and 1836, now housing an officers' club with an adjoining sentry booth.","why_significant":"The nomination argues it is a chief military historical landmark. It is a \"walled enceinte\" from the \"era of stone fortifications\" built to secure the Narrows and New York Harbor. The site had been strategically important for about 200 years, and the fort's original design character survives despite alterations.","narrative":"Overlooking the Narrows at Fort Hamilton in Brooklyn, the Old Casemate Fort is a C-shaped structure of stone and brick with walls about three feet thick. Plans were drawn in 1819 by Army and Navy officials, the cornerstone was laid in 1825, and construction was supervised by General Bernard, a French engineer. The design is a \"walled enceinte\" typical of the era of stone fortifications, with a moat-like area and a small sentry house at the entrance. The site had held earlier defences, including a Dutch blockhouse and British fortifications. Since 1938 the building has served as an officers' club, with renovations adding plumbing, heating and wiring and a rooftop recreation hall. In 1958 the western wall was demolished and buried to make room for bridge approaches. The nomination holds that the original design character endures in the exterior and the stone interior construction, making the fort an important military landmark.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Built under the supervision of General Bernard, a French engineer employed by the United States","architectural_style":"Walled enceinte, \"era of stone fortifications\"","criteria":[],"status_note":"Good condition; in use since 1938 as the Fort Hamilton Officers Open Mess, with a guard house in the southeastern half. Altered in 1938 and 1958, and the western wall was demolished for Verrazano-Narrows Bridge approaches.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:50:38.845641-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/74001249.pdf"},"photo":null,"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75318341","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casemate_Fort,_Whiting_Quadrangle","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5048405"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/brooklyn/casemate-fort-whiting-quadrangle-74001249/"}