Fort Schuyler

Fort Schuyler occupies the tip of Throg's Neck, where the East River meets Long Island Sound in the Bronx. Construction began in 1833 under Captain I.L. Smith of the Army engineers, and the grey granite fort, an irregular pentagon with bastions, casemates and a drawbridge, was ready for its guns in December 1845. Armament was completed in 1856. Named for General Philip Schuyler, it was meant to defend New York City, yet its garrison never fired its guns in anger. After the army left in 1934, the fort was restored between 1934 and 1938 as the home of the state merchant marine academy, now the State University of New York Maritime College. Although the interior was completely rebuilt, the exterior remains essentially intact. Nearby are five officers' quarters from 1878, a brick warehouse contemporary with the fort, and stone outerworks. Together they illustrate nineteenth-century coastal defense and a successful example of adaptive reuse.