Castle Clinton

Castle Clinton stands slightly west of where Fort Amsterdam was built in 1626, when New York City was known by the Dutch name New Amsterdam.{{harvnb|ps=.|National Park Service|1960|p=5 (PDF p. 10)}} Fort Amsterdam was demolished by 1790 after the American Revolutionary War.{{cite web|url=https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/battery-park/history|title=The Battery Highlights : NYC Parks|date=June 26, 1939|website=New York City Department of Parks & Recreation|access-date=May 7, 2019|archive-date=November 29, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091129170108/http://www.nycgovparks.org/sub_your_park/historical_signs/hs_historical_sign.php?id=7712|url-status=live}}{{harvnb|ps=.|Jackson|2010|p=472}}{{harvnb|ps=.|Gilder|1936|p=113}} Proposals for a new fort were made after two separate war scares involving Britain and France in the 1790s, but neither plan was ultimately carried out.{{harvnb|ps=.|National Park Service|1960|p=8 (PDF p. 13)}} By 1805, there were growing tensions between Britain and the U.S., marking the run-up to the War of 1812. Late that year, Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Williams of the United States Army Engineers began planning a series of fortifications in New York Harbor.{{harvnb|ps=.|Gilder|1936|p=129}} Williams was part of a group of three commissioners who, in 1807, submitted a report that recommended the construction of such fortifications.{{harvnb|ps=.|National Park Service|1960|p=9 (PDF p. 14)}}

Fort Clinton, originally known as West Battery and sometimes as Southwest Battery,{{harvnb|ps=.|Jackson|2010|p=102}}{{harvnb|ps=.|Gilder|1936|p=130}}{{cite news |last=Gross |first=Alexander S. |date=February 23, 1947 |title=Aquarium Gets Six-Week Stay of Execution: Old Castle Garden, Built in 1808, Has Been in Turn a Fort, Cafe, Jenny Lind's Concert Hall, Immigration Station |page=A9 |work=New York Herald Tribune|issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1268009616}}}} was built on an artificial island, created just off shore when the fort was built. Construction began in 1808, and the fort was completed in 1811,{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/28/nyregion/a-transformation-21-years-in-the-making-at-the-battery.html|title=A Transformation at the Battery, 21 Years in the Making|last=Dunlap|first=David|date=May 27, 2015|work=The New York Times|access-date=August 14, 2015|issn=0362-4331|author-link=David W. Dunlap|archive-date=September 8, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150908045557/http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/28/nyregion/a-transformation-21-years-in-the-making-at-the-battery.html|url-status=live}}{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=arkrCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA90|title=Gotham Unbound: The Ecological History of Greater New York|last=Steinberg|first=Ted|publisher=Simon & Schuster|year=2015|isbn=978-1-4767-4128-4|pages=90–91|access-date=May 7, 2019|archive-date=October 9, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221009225436/https://books.google.com/books?id=arkrCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA90|url-status=live}} although modifications continued through the 1820s.{{harvnb|ps=.|National Park Service|1960|p=15 (PDF p. 28)}} Designed by John McComb Jr. with Jonathan Williams as consulting engineer,{{harvnb|ps=.|National Park Service|1960|p=14 (PDF p. 21)}}{{Cite aia5|page=6}} West Battery was roughly circular with a radius of approximately {{Convert|92|ft|m|abbr=}}. About one-eighth of the circle had a straight wall instead of a curved wall. The walls were made of red sandstone quarried in New Jersey.{{cite news |last=Blair |first=Raymond J. |date=May 7, 1950 |title=Castle Clinton Restoration Job Will Start Soon: U. S. May Begin This Month Turning Aquarium Into 1812 War Memorial Fort |page=9 |work=New York Herald Tribune|issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1325145021}}}} The fort had 28 thirty-two-pounder cannons. A wooden bridge led from the fort to the rest of Manhattan. West Battery was intended to complement the three-tiered Castle Williams, the East Battery, on Governors Island.{{harvnb|ps=.|National Park Service|1960|p=12 (PDF p. 19)}}

The fort was completed in late 1811, and it was garrisoned in 1812.{{harvnb|ps=.|National Park Service|1960|p=10 (PDF p. 17)}} However, the fort was never used for warfare, and British and American forces signed a peace treaty in February 1815. By then, West Battery was renamed Fort Clinton in honor of New York City Mayor DeWitt Clinton (who eventually became Governor of New York). The castle proper was converted to administrative headquarters for the Army. Simultaneously, at the end of the war, there was a public movement to build a park in the Battery area. A 1816 proposal to construct two small office buildings at Fort Clinton was canceled due to public opposition, and the castle lay dormant for three years.{{harvnb|ps=.|Gilder|1936|p=143}} The Common Council of New York proposed in May 1820 that the United States government transfer ownership of the castle to the city government, but the United States Congress declined to pass legislation to that effect.

By 1820, Fort Clinton was being used as a paymaster's quarters and storage area.{{harvnb|ps=.|National Park Service|1960|p=13 (PDF p. 20)}} The United States Army stopped using the fort in 1821, and it was ceded to the city by an act of Congress in March 1822.{{harvnb|ps=.|Gilder|1936|p=146}}{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hvA1AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA6|title=American State Papers: Documents, Legislative and Executive, Of the Congress of the United States|author=United States. Congress|publisher=Gales and Seaton|year=1860|page=6|access-date=May 7, 2019|issue=v. 18|archive-date=October 9, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221009225442/https://books.google.com/books?id=hvA1AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA6|url-status=live}} By then, the bridge leading to Fort Clinton was frequently used by fishermen who were catching fish from the bridge, which was connected to the shore at the foot of Broadway.{{Cite book|last=Klawonn|first=Marion J.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ptbk6o8CQMoC&pg=PA32|title=Cradle of the Corps: A History of the New York District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 1775–1975|date=1977|publisher=Department of Defense, Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers, New York District|language=en|access-date=July 12, 2021|archive-date=October 9, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221009225437/https://books.google.com/books?id=ptbk6o8CQMoC&pg=PA32|url-status=live}}

File:JunkKeyingView70.jpg (1814–1885), depicting the castle in 1848]]

File:Castle Garden theater 1824.jpg in the U.S. at Castle Garden, September 11, 1850 (lithograph by Currier and Ives)]]

The fort was leased to the New York City government as an entertainment venue in June 1824; the city originally paid $1,400 a year for five years.{{Cite magazine |last=Loring Andrews |first=William |date=May 1, 1901 |title=The Iconography of the Battery and Castle Garden |volume=22 |issue=4 |page=304 |id={{ProQuest|88406229}} |magazine=The Book Buyer}} The city government subleased the fort to Francis Fitch, Arthur Roorbach, and J. Rathbone. Fort Clinton became Castle Garden, which served as a beer garden, exhibition hall, and theater. The venue contained 50 boxes, each with a table and eight seats. Atop Castle Garden was a circular promenade with a canopy above it. Castle Garden was surrounded by a gravel promenade and shrubbery atop a seawall. The New-York Daily Tribune wrote that the fort "afterward became associated with scenes of peace and popular amusement".{{Cite news |date=July 26, 1865 |title=The Battery: Its Past and Present |page=1 |work=New-York Daily Tribune|id={{ProQuest|570701501}}}} One critic described Castle Garden in 1828 as "a favored place of public resort".

The fort reopened as Castle Garden on July 3, 1824. One of the fort's first events was in September 1824, when 6,000 people attended an event honoring General Lafayette.{{harvnb|Svejda|1968|p=34|ps=.}} Over the years, the fort hosted other political figures such as U.S. presidents Andrew Jackson,{{cite news |date=August 13, 1946 |title=Aquarium Moves Step Closer to Becoming National Shring: Landmark Which May Be Restored as National Shrine |page=1 |work=New York Herald Tribune|issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1284595994}}}} John Tyler, and James K. Polk, as well as Hungarian governor-president Lajos Kossuth. Inventor Samuel Morse hosted a demonstration of a telegraph machine at Castle Garden in 1835.{{Cite news |last=Shepard |first=Richard F. |date=May 24, 1975 |title=Castle Clinton Opening Again, To Beethoven 9Th |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1975/05/24/archives/castle-clinton-opening-again-to-beethoven-9th-castle-clinton.html |access-date=October 9, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=May 18, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220518005510/https://www.nytimes.com/1975/05/24/archives/castle-clinton-opening-again-to-beethoven-9th-castle-clinton.html |url-status=live }} Around 1845, Castle Garden was converted into a theater when a roof was built above the fort's interior.{{Cite news |last=Landsberg |first=Mitchell |date=June 22, 1986 |title=First Immigration Site to Reopen July 6 |pages=6 |work=The Central New Jersey Home News |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/111056256/first-immigration-site-to-reopen-july/ |access-date=October 10, 2022 |archive-date=October 12, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221012004202/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/111056256/first-immigration-site-to-reopen-july/ |url-status=live }}{{cite web |date=November 23, 1965 |title=Castle Clinton |url=http://s-media.nyc.gov/agencies/lpc/lp/0029.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200921132356/https://s-media.nyc.gov/agencies/lpc/lp/0029.pdf |archive-date=September 21, 2020 |access-date=January 1, 2021 |publisher=New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission |url-status=live }}{{harvnb|National Park Service|1966|ps=.|p=3}} The structure contained 6,000 seats. Officials were planning to expand the nearby Battery Park by 1848, adding landfill around Castle Garden to bring the park to {{convert|24|acre}}.{{harvnb|Gilder|1936|p=187|ps=.}}{{harvnb|Svejda|1968|p=35|ps=.}}

In 1850, Swedish soprano Jenny Lind gave her first performances in the United States with two concerts at Castle Gardens;{{harvnb|ps=.|Gilder|1936|p=188}}{{harvnb|Svejda|1968|pp=34–35|ps=.}} tickets for these concerts cost up to $225 ({{inflation|index=US|value=225|start_year=1850|fmt=eq}}).{{Cite news |last=Strausbaugh |first=John |date=November 9, 2007 |title=When Barnum Took Manhattan |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/09/arts/09expl.html |access-date=October 10, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=August 1, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210801135443/https://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/09/arts/09expl.html?_r=0 |url-status=live }} A year later, Castle Garden started selling concert tickets at "popular prices" of up to 50 cents ({{inflation|index=US|value=0.5|start_year=1851|fmt=eq}}).{{Cite news |date=February 23, 1890 |title=Historic Castle Garden |pages=3 |work=The Sun |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/111076198/historic-castle-garden/ |access-date=October 10, 2022 |archive-date=October 12, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221012004202/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/111076198/historic-castle-garden/ |url-status=live }} In the early 1850s, European dancing star Lola Montez performed her "tarantula dance",{{harvnb|ps=.|Gilder|1936|p=194}} and Louis-Antoine Jullien gave dozens of successful concerts mixing classical and light music. The Max Maretzek Italian Opera Company staged the New York premieres of two operas at Castle Garden: Gaetano Donizetti's Marino Faliero on June 17, 1851, and Giuseppe Verdi's Luisa Miller on July 20, 1854.{{harvnb|ps=.|Brodsky Lawrence|1995|p=314}}{{harvnb|ps=.|Martin|2011|p=184}}{{harvnb|ps=.|Gilder|1936|p=195}}

The fort was leased to Theodore J. Allen for five years on May 1, 1854. Under the terms of the lease, Allen could expand the island around Castle Garden, but he could not infill the channel between Castle Garden and Battery Park.{{harvnb|Svejda|1968|pp=31–32|ps=.}}

File:Castle Garden aerial view ca1880.jpg

Castle Garden served as the first immigration depot in the U.S. from 1855 to 1890.{{cite news |last=Dodd |first=Ora |date=September 2, 1958 |title=Luxurious Ocean Liners Steam Past 'Front Door': First Battery Described Fort Ceded to City Street Names Give Clue |page=11 |work=The Christian Science Monitor |id={{ProQuest|509812274}}}} Most of the fort, except for the section along the shoreline, was surrounded by a {{convert|1000|ft|m|-long|adj=mid}} wooden fence.{{harvnb|National Park Service|1966|ps=.|p=2}}{{harvnb|Svejda|1968|p=42|ps=.}} The fence, measuring {{convert|12|or|13|ft}} high, was intended to keep out unauthorized immigrants.{{Cite news |date=May 29, 1855 |title=Castle Garden—What It Was, What It Is, And What It Is Proposed To |page=1 |work=The New York Herald |id={{proQuest|505320563}}}} At the center of the fort was the waiting area, known as the rotunda.{{harvnb|Svejda|1968|pp=91–92|ps=.}} The immigrant registration depot included a quadrangle of desks arranged around this waiting area, as well as restrooms flanking the main entrance.{{harvnb|Svejda|1968|pp=42–43|ps=.}}{{Cite news |date=July 14, 1855 |title=New-York City; Progress at Castle Garden. Workingmen Against Contracts. Tired of Life—Another Suicide. The Body of John W. Parker Fonnd. Forged Checks. The United States Steam Frigate Niagara.. Fall from a Roof. Extension of Chambers-Street. Fires. |language=en-US |work=New York Daily Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1855/07/14/archives/newyork-city-progress-at-castle-garden-workingmen-against-contracts.html |access-date=October 12, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=October 13, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221013140127/https://www.nytimes.com/1855/07/14/archives/newyork-city-progress-at-castle-garden-workingmen-against-contracts.html |url-status=live }} The waiting area also had wooden benches. Although there are no precise figures for the capacity of the waiting area, various sources give a capacity of between 2,000 and 4,000.{{harvnb|Svejda|1968|pp=92–93|ps=.}} An enclosed balcony was installed around the waiting area circa 1869.{{harvnb|Svejda|1968|p=91|ps=.}} The residential outbuildings around the fort became offices.{{harvnb|Svejda|1968|p=43|ps=.}}

Before being processed at Castle Garden, immigrants underwent medical inspections at the Marine Hospital on Staten Island, where ill immigrants were quarantined.{{Cite news |date=June 19, 1865 |title=Emigration: Great Increase in Emigration – Castle Garden – the Modus Operandi With Newly Arrived Emigrants – Their First Impressions – Boarding-House Burners – the Bureau of Employment – Great Mortality Among Emigrant Children – Thirty Deaths on One Ship |page=7 |work=New-York Daily Tribune|id={{proQuest|570749141}}}} Those who passed their medical inspection boarded a steamship, which traveled to a dock along the northern side of Castle Garden; the dock faced away from Battery Park, preventing immigrants from entering Manhattan before they had been processed. Immigrants were inspected a second time before entering the fort. Inside the depot, a New York state emigration clerk registered each immigrant and directed them to another desk, where a second clerk advised each immigrant about their destination. Each of the immigrants then received a bottle of bathwater and returned to the dock, where their baggage was collected.{{harvnb|Svejda|1968|pp=46–47|ps=.}} The New York Central Railroad and the New York and Erie Railroad sold train tickets at Castle Garden as well.{{harvnb|Svejda|1968|p=65|ps=.}}

Many of Castle Garden's original immigrant passenger records were stored at Ellis Island, where they were destroyed in a fire in 1897.{{Cite news |date=June 15, 1897 |title=Fire on Ellis Island; It Broke Out Shortly After Midnight in the Furnace of the Main Building |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1897/06/15/archives/fire-on-ellis-island-it-broke-out-shortly-after-midnight-in-the.html |url-status=live |access-date=March 22, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180322082149/https://www.nytimes.com/1897/06/15/archives/fire-on-ellis-island-it-broke-out-shortly-after-midnight-in-the.html |archive-date=March 22, 2018 |issn=0362-4331}} Sources cite 7.5 million{{Cite news |last=Yarrow |first=Andrew L. |date=May 26, 1989 |title=Out of New York's Military Past |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/05/26/arts/out-of-new-york-s-military-past.html |access-date=October 10, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=November 15, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211115013854/https://www.nytimes.com/1989/05/26/arts/out-of-new-york-s-military-past.html |url-status=live }} or 8 million immigrants as having been processed at Castle Garden.{{Cite news |last=Roberts |first=Sam |date=July 29, 2005 |title=The Fort That Let Outsiders In |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/29/nyregion/the-fort-that-let-outsiders-in.html |access-date=October 10, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=June 9, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210609234059/https://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/29/nyregion/the-fort-that-let-outsiders-in.html |url-status=live }}{{cite web |date=April 26, 2021 |title=History & Culture |url=https://www.nps.gov/cacl/learn/historyculture/index.htm |access-date=October 10, 2022 |website=Castle Clinton National Monument (U.S. National Park Service) |archive-date=August 15, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220815012434/https://www.nps.gov/cacl/learn/historyculture/index.htm |url-status=live }} These account for the vast majority of the nearly 10 million immigrants who passed through the Port of New York between 1847 and 1890.{{harvnb|Svejda|1968|p=144|ps=.}}{{Cite news |date=April 1, 1890 |title=Castle Garden to Go: Where All the Immigrants Come From and Their Destination |page=9 |work=Chicago Daily Tribune|id={{ProQuest|174379629}}}}{{efn|The New York state government's Board of Commissioners of Emigration processed 9,639,635 total immigrants passed through the Port of New York between 1847 (when the board was established) and 1890. Castle Garden processed 8,280,917 immigrants between 1855 and 1889; during that period, the United States had 10,956,910 total immigrants. The Commissioners of Emigration processed an additional two million immigrants between 1847 and 1855, but they did not pass through Castle Garden.{{harvnb|Svejda|1968|pp=143–144|ps=.}}}} The majority of immigrants processed at Castle Garden were from European countries, namely Denmark, England, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Russia, Scotland, and Sweden.{{Cite news |last=Bleyer |first=Jennifer |date=September 18, 2005 |title=Immigrants' Ships, Sailing Across the Web |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/18/nyregion/thecity/immigrants-ships-sailing-across-the-web.html |access-date=October 10, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=May 29, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150529184823/http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/18/nyregion/thecity/immigrants-ships-sailing-across-the-web.html |url-status=live }}{{cite magazine |last=Grates |first=Julie |date=Oct–Nov 2005 |title=The First U.S. Immigrant Gateway |volume=XXI |page=22 |id={{proQuest|211200134}} |magazine=Irish America}} The facility's name was pronounced {{lang|de|Kesselgarten}} by German immigrants and by Yiddish-speaking Eastern European Jews. The word {{lang|de|kesselgarten}} became a generic term for any situation that was noisy, confusing or chaotic, or where a "babel" of languages was spoken (a reference to the multitude of languages heard spoken by the immigrants from many countries at the site).{{cite thesis |type=PhD |last=O'Malley |first=Brendan P. |date=May 2015 |page=[https://academicworks.cuny.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2093&context=gc_etds#page=258 262] |title=Protecting the Stranger: The Origins of US Immigration Regulation in Nineteenth-Century New York |publisher=City University of New York |quote=American Yiddish commemorated this era of poor management with the term "kessel garten", meaning a crowded and disorderly place.}} In 2005, The New York Times estimated that one-sixth of all Americans were descended from an immigrant who had passed through Castle Garden.

File:Interior view of the State Emigrant Landing Depot, Castle Garden, N.Y (NYPL b13476047-423062).jpg

The New York state government's Board of Emigration Commissioners had been established in 1847 to operate medical facilities and a registration center for immigrants. Although the board had acquired the Marine Hospital on Staten Island soon after its establishment, their efforts to open a registration center were unsuccessful for several years.{{harvnb|Svejda|1968|p=32|ps=.}} Prior to the establishment of the registration center, unethical ticket-booking agents for transport lines frequently approached newly arrived immigrants, only to abscond with the immigrants' savings. The board took over Allen's lease of Castle Garden in May 1855 and made some modifications, leasing the fort for $8,000 annually ({{inflation|index=US|value=8000|start_year=1855|fmt=eq}}).{{Cite news |date=April 17, 1890 |title=Castle Garden's Future; Plans Under Way to Restore Its Glories as an Amusement Resort. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1890/04/17/archives/castle-gardens-future-plans-under-way-to-restore-its-glories-as-an.html |url-status=live |access-date=October 10, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221012004153/https://www.nytimes.com/1890/04/17/archives/castle-gardens-future-plans-under-way-to-restore-its-glories-as-an.html |archive-date=October 12, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}} Several local residents attempted to prevent the fort from being converted into an immigrant registration depot, claiming that the state government's lease was illegal and that the newly arrived immigrants would spread disease.{{harvnb|Svejda|1968|pp=35–37|ps=.}} A judge for the state's Superior Court ruled in June 1855 that work on the immigrant-processing depot could proceed.{{Cite news |date=June 25, 1855 |title=Interesting History of Castle Garden and the Battery: Judge Hoffman's Opinion in Full Superior Court—Special Term |page=2 |work=The New York Herald |id={{proQuest|505348438}}}}

The Emigrant Landing Depot opened within the fort on August 1, 1855,{{harvnb|Svejda|1968|pp=44–45|ps=.}} and the depot began processing immigrants two days later.{{harvnb|Svejda|1968|p=44|ps=.}}{{Cite news |date=August 4, 1855 |title=Castle Garden; How Emigrants Are Created on Landing |language=en-US |work=New York Daily Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1855/08/04/archives/castle-garden-how-emigrants-are-created-on-landing.html |access-date=October 12, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=October 13, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221013140027/https://www.nytimes.com/1855/08/04/archives/castle-garden-how-emigrants-are-created-on-landing.html |url-status=live }} The identity of the first migrant processed at the fort is unknown. Of the first five ships to arrive at Castle Garden, English laborer Richard Richards was the first person on the manifest of the largest ship. Although the New York state government endorsed Castle Garden's conversion to an immigrant-processing depot, the New York City government opposed the move and accused the Emigration Commissioners of violating the terms of their lease.{{harvnb|Svejda|1968|pp=48–50|ps=.}}{{Cite news |date=March 12, 1856 |title=Castle Garden Affairs; Are There Frauds ?—Examination of the Cashier, Emigrants and Othersp—Protest of Mr. Garrigue. |language=en-US |work=New York Daily Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1856/03/12/archives/castle-garden-affairs-are-there-frauds-examination-of-the-cashier.html |access-date=October 12, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=October 13, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221013140103/https://www.nytimes.com/1856/03/12/archives/castle-garden-affairs-are-there-frauds-examination-of-the-cashier.html |url-status=live }} Many complaints about Castle Garden came from "runners" representing booking agents and boarding house operators, who could not intercept unwitting immigrants because of Castle Garden's strict policies.{{harvnb|Svejda|1968|p=50|ps=.}} The New York state government's initial four-year lease of Castle Garden expired in 1859, and state officials renewed their lease annually for the next ten years. By then, state and city officials could not agree on who owned the depot.{{harvnb|Svejda|1968|p=66|ps=.}} The city, state, and federal governments continued to fight over the depot's ownership through the 1870s.{{Cite news |date=July 5, 1873 |title=The Emigrant Landing Depot.; Disputed Title to Castle Garden |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1873/07/05/archives/the-emigrant-landing-depot-disputed-title-to-castle-gardensingular.html |access-date=October 12, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=October 13, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221013140027/https://www.nytimes.com/1873/07/05/archives/the-emigrant-landing-depot-disputed-title-to-castle-gardensingular.html |url-status=live }}

Although Castle Garden staff often mistreated immigrants, historian George J. Svejda wrote that the depot "was still the best place for immigrants upon their landing on America's shores". In 1864, to convince immigrants to enlist in the United States Armed Forces during the American Civil War, the County Bounty Committee erected a recruitment center next to Castle Garden.{{harvnb|Svejda|1968|pp=68–69|ps=.}}{{Cite news |date=July 20, 1864 |title=New Recruiting Headquarters |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1864/07/20/archives/new-recruiting-headquarters.html |access-date=October 12, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=October 13, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221013140027/https://www.nytimes.com/1864/07/20/archives/new-recruiting-headquarters.html |url-status=live }} Two years later, the Board of Emigration Commissioners constructed a one-story labor exchange building, a waiting room, and an information office, and they made repairs to Castle Garden.{{harvnb|Svejda|1968|pp=82–83|ps=.}} The fort's exterior remained largely unchanged over the years, but the interior and many of the fort's wooden outbuildings were frequently renovated. Battery Park was expanded circa 1869 using landfill,{{cite news |last=Miller |first=Jerry |date=December 8, 1963 |title=Manhattan May Take More Land From Sea |page=459 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |id={{ProQuest|116671402}}}} at which point the island containing Castle Garden was incorporated into the rest of Manhattan Island. The rotunda was extensively restored at this time, and a wooden balcony was installed. By then, The New York Times wrote that the surrounding Battery Park was "a haven for the 'runners' who approached innocent Irish and German newcomers, offering them nonexistent lodgings for their money".{{Cite news|last=Dunning|first=Jennifer|date=November 26, 1982|title=A Walk Around Battery as the Sun Is Setting|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1982/11/26/arts/a-walk-around-battery-as-the-sun-is-setting.html|access-date=October 10, 2022|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=May 24, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150524120115/http://www.nytimes.com/1982/11/26/arts/a-walk-around-battery-as-the-sun-is-setting.html|url-status=live}}

File:Castle Garden Landing for Emigrants, Barge Office, Battery MET DR175.jpg

By the early 1870s, Castle Garden's information bureau employed staff members who could speak over a dozen languages.{{harvnb|Svejda|1968|pp=94–95|ps=.}} The New York state government encouraged immigrants to use other ports of entry to reduce overcrowding, so it issued a head tax on every immigrant who passed through Castle Garden.{{harvnb|Svejda|1968|pp=97–98|ps=.}} This measure was largely ineffective, as The New York Times wrote in 1874: "Castle Garden is so well known in Europe that few emigrants can be induced to sail to any other destination."{{Cite news |date=February 28, 1874 |title=Steamships & Immigration; How Steamers Are Drawn to New-York. Castle Garden as a Magnet the Erie Canal and the Great Railroads Wonderful Increase of Steam-Ships They Are Built From Emigrant |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1874/02/28/archives/steamships-immigration-how-steamers-are-drawn-to-newyork-castle.html |access-date=October 12, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=October 13, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221013140028/https://www.nytimes.com/1874/02/28/archives/steamships-immigration-how-steamers-are-drawn-to-newyork-castle.html |url-status=live }} By then, the immigration depot was in poor condition, with rotting floors and "tottering" offices and benches.{{Cite news |date=January 5, 1874 |title=Improvements at Castle Garden |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1874/01/05/archives/improvements-at-castle-garden.html |access-date=October 12, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=October 13, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221013140028/https://www.nytimes.com/1874/01/05/archives/improvements-at-castle-garden.html |url-status=live }} The Board of Emigration Commissioners lost a significant source of income in 1875, when the Supreme Court of the United States invalidated a New York state law that required steamship companies to pay a head tax or put up a bond for each immigrant. Afterward, the commissioners sought funding from the state legislature.{{harvnb|Svejda|1968|pp=98–99|ps=.}}{{Cite news |date=March 22, 1876 |title=Local Miscellany.; Anxiety at Castle Garden. Effect of the Decision Regarding Emigrant Head Money by the Supreme Court of the United States. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1876/03/22/archives/local-miscellany-anxiety-at-castle-garden-effect-of-the-decision.html |access-date=October 12, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=October 13, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221013140029/https://www.nytimes.com/1876/03/22/archives/local-miscellany-anxiety-at-castle-garden-effect-of-the-decision.html |url-status=live }} Due to budgetary shortfalls, the Emigration Commissioners disbanded the labor bureau in 1875,{{harvnb|Svejda|1968|p=105|ps=.}}{{Cite news |date=May 26, 1875 |title=The Emigration Commissioners.; Retrenchment Measures Abolition of the Labor Bureau at Castle Garden Employes to Be Discharged |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1875/05/26/archives/the-emigration-commissioners-retrenchment-measures-abolition-of-the.html |access-date=October 12, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=October 13, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221013140029/https://www.nytimes.com/1875/05/26/archives/the-emigration-commissioners-retrenchment-measures-abolition-of-the.html |url-status=live }} although the German and Irish Emigrant Societies took over the labor bureau's operation. Congress passed the Page Act of 1875, the first restrictive federal immigration law in the United States, during this time.{{harvnb|Svejda|1968|p=97|ps=.}}

The structure was severely damaged in a fire on July 30, 1876.{{Cite news |date=July 12, 1876 |title=The Castle Garden Fire |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1876/07/12/archives/the-castle-garden-fire.html |access-date=October 12, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=October 13, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221013140029/https://www.nytimes.com/1876/07/12/archives/the-castle-garden-fire.html |url-status=live }}{{cite news |date=July 10, 1876 |title=Castle Garden Destroyed: Burning of a Historic Building Swift Progress of the Flames in the Dry Wood-Work |page=5 |work=New-York Tribune|id={{ProQuest|572699892}}}}{{harvnb|Svejda|1968|pp=99–100|ps=.}} Castle Garden's exterior remained intact, as did the outbuildings to the north of the fort, but the interior was completely destroyed. In the aftermath of the fire, several city officials proposed shuttering the Castle Garden immigration center and restoring the fort as a venue for "public enjoyment".{{harvnb|Svejda|1968|pp=101–103|ps=.}} Nonetheless, the New York state government awarded a contract for Castle Garden's reconstruction in September 1876,{{harvnb|Svejda|1968|pp=103–104|ps=.}}{{Cite news |date=September 8, 1876 |title=Rebuilding Castle Garden |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1876/09/08/archives/rebuilding-castle-garden.html |access-date=October 12, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=October 13, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221013140029/https://www.nytimes.com/1876/09/08/archives/rebuilding-castle-garden.html |url-status=live }} and it reopened on November 27, 1876.{{cite news |date=November 28, 1876 |title=Castle Garden Again Occupied |page=2 |work=New-York Tribune|id={{ProQuest|572719567}}}} As part of the $30,000 project ({{inflation|index=US|value=30000|start_year=1876|fmt=eq}}), officials installed windows in the embrasures along the facade, and they added two doorways. After the nearby Barge Office was completed in 1879, immigrants disembarked at the Barge Office, where officers examined immigrants' baggage. The baggage-collection duties soon returned to Castle Garden, and the Barge Office became a storage area.

New York state officials unsuccessfully attempted to reinstate a head tax at Castle Garden in 1881.{{harvnb|Svejda|1968|p=106|ps=.}} The following year, Congress passed the Immigration Act of 1882, which imposed a head tax on non-U.S. citizens who passed through American ports, as well as restricted certain classes of people from immigrating to America.{{harvnb|Svejda|1968|p=107|ps=.}} Under the 1882 act, the Emigration Commissioners earned 50 cents for each immigrant who passed through Castle Garden. Later that year, the Emigration Commissioners began collecting rent from the various companies and agents with offices at Castle Garden, and it started collecting taxes from boardinghouse operators.{{harvnb|Svejda|1968|pp=113–114|ps=.}} The Immigration Act of 1882 also prompted a jurisdictional dispute between the city, state, and federal governments.{{harvnb|Svejda|1968|p=121|ps=.}} For example, in 1885, the state government refused to allocate $10,000 for repairs to the depot's ferry dock because the city technically owned Castle Garden. The state government finally provided money for repairs in 1887.{{harvnb|Svejda|1968|p=122|ps=.}}{{Cite news |date=March 1, 1887 |title=New Dock for Castle Garden |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1887/03/01/archives/new-dock-for-castle-garden.html |access-date=October 12, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=October 13, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221013140030/https://www.nytimes.com/1887/03/01/archives/new-dock-for-castle-garden.html |url-status=live }}

By the late 1880s, Castle Garden had become overcrowded and unhygienic, and there were numerous reports that Castle Garden officials were mistreating immigrants.{{harvnb|Svejda|1968|pp=134–135|ps=.}} Robert Chesebrough, a businessman who owned several structures around Battery Park, had also advocated for the closure of the Castle Garden processing depot.{{Cite news |last=Gray |first=Christopher |date=October 12, 2003 |title=Streetscapes/The Chesebrough House, 71st Street and Madison Avenue; 1911 Home Built by the Man Who Invented Vaseline |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/10/12/realestate/streetscapes-chesebrough-house-71st-street-madison-avenue-1911-home-built-man.html |access-date=October 10, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=December 28, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171228165509/http://www.nytimes.com/2003/10/12/realestate/streetscapes-chesebrough-house-71st-street-madison-avenue-1911-home-built-man.html |url-status=live }} The Chicago Daily Tribune wrote that the structure was "a dilapidated rotunda surrounded by equally ramshackle structures for the housing of the strangers on these shores". The Emigration Commissioners had dismissed many of Castle Garden's employees in September 1889 because of declining income, further compounding the facility's issues.{{harvnb|Svejda|1968|p=138|ps=.}}{{Cite news |date=September 20, 1889 |title=Forces Cut Down.; Many Castle Garden and Ward's Island Employes Discharged |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1889/09/20/archives/forces-cut-down-many-castle-garden-and-wards-island-employes.html |access-date=October 12, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=October 13, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221013140530/https://www.nytimes.com/1889/09/20/archives/forces-cut-down-many-castle-garden-and-wards-island-employes.html |url-status=live }} Federal and state officials also had difficulty sharing jurisdiction of Castle Garden; state officials reportedly did not enforce federal laws, as it was not part of their duties.

The federal government notified New York state officials in February 1890 that it would take over immigrant-processing duties at Castle Garden within sixty days.{{harvnb|Svejda|1968|p=139|ps=.}}{{cite news |date=February 17, 1890 |title=Anxiety at Castle Garden |page=5 |work=New-York Tribune|id={{ProQuest|573579541}}}} Federal officials planned to construct a new immigrant-processing center at another location, ultimately selecting a site on Ellis Island.{{harvnb|Svejda|1968|p=143|ps=.}} Castle Garden closed on April 18, 1890,{{Cite news |date=April 19, 1890 |title=Farewell Castle Garden; Superintendent Weber to Take Hold To-Day. The State Board of Emigration at Its Last Meeting Gives Secretary Windom a Little Dig. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1890/04/19/archives/farewell-castle-garden-superintendent-weber-to-take-hold-today-the.html |access-date=October 12, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=October 13, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221013140530/https://www.nytimes.com/1890/04/19/archives/farewell-castle-garden-superintendent-weber-to-take-hold-today-the.html |url-status=live }}{{cite news |date=April 19, 1890 |title=No Tears Sued for Castle Garden: It Is Officially Dead—the Federal Government Now Receives Immigrants |page=3 |work=New-York Tribune|id={{ProQuest|573536623}}}} The immigrant-processing center was temporarily relocated to the Barge Office.{{Cite news |date=April 20, 1890 |title=Barge Office Doors Open; Poor Old Castle Garden Deserted at Last. A Gold Piece for the First Foreigner Registered – the Ward's Island Matter Settled |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1890/04/20/archives/barge-office-doors-open-poor-old-castle-garden-deserted-at-last-a.html |url-status=live |access-date=October 10, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221012004218/https://www.nytimes.com/1890/04/20/archives/barge-office-doors-open-poor-old-castle-garden-deserted-at-last-a.html |archive-date=October 12, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}}{{cite book |last1=Belle |first1=Beyer Blinder |url=https://archive.org/details/historicstructur00beye |title=Historic Structure Report: The Main Building, Ellis Island, Statue of Liberty National Monument |last2=Finegold |first2=Anderson Notter |year=1988 |page=12}}{{harvnb|Svejda|1968|p=145|ps=.}} The state's Commissioners of Emigration had forbidden the federal government to continue to use Castle Garden until the Ellis Island immigrant depot was completed. The new registration office on Ellis Island was completed in 1892. In its last year of operation, Castle Garden processed 450,394 travelers, 364,086 of whom were immigrants. When the immigrant-registration depot closed, city officials contemplated converting Castle Garden into an "amusement resort".

The New York state government formally transferred Castle Garden to the city government on December 31, 1890.{{Cite news |date=December 31, 1890 |title=Castle Garden Transferred |pages=4 |work=The Evening World |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/111080745/castle-garden-transferred/ |access-date=October 10, 2022 |archive-date=October 12, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221012004204/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/111080745/castle-garden-transferred/ |url-status=live }} By the next year, city officials had removed the wooden fence around Castle Garden, and they were planning to demolish the various outbuildings around the fort.{{Cite news |date=August 2, 1891 |title=Historic Battery Park; Its Traditions Cherished by Every Loyal New-Yorker. What It Was in Former Days and May Be Again When the Squatter Shall Be Ousted – Fort Clinton's Walls and Gate. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1891/08/02/archives/historic-battery-park-its-traditions-cherished-by-every-loyal.html |url-status=live |access-date=October 10, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221012004250/https://www.nytimes.com/1891/08/02/archives/historic-battery-park-its-traditions-cherished-by-every-loyal.html |archive-date=October 12, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}} The New York Naval Reserve's First Battalion considered relocating to Castle Garden at that time,{{cite news |date=December 13, 1891 |title=A Use for Castle Garden: The Naval Reserve Needs It No More Admirable Site in New-York—its Many Advantages |page=23 |work=New-York Tribune|id={{ProQuest|573687055}}}}{{Cite news |date=December 13, 1891 |title=Naval Reserve Artillery; Suggestions Which, If Carried Out, Will Tend to Its Efficiency |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1891/12/13/archives/naval-reserve-artillery-suggestions-which-if-carried-out-will-tend.html |url-status=live |access-date=October 10, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221012004213/https://www.nytimes.com/1891/12/13/archives/naval-reserve-artillery-suggestions-which-if-carried-out-will-tend.html |archive-date=October 12, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}} and it subsequently used Castle Garden as a drill hall during the early 1890s.{{cite news |date=September 11, 1893 |title=New York's Aquarium.: It Is to Cost $150,000 And Permanently Occupy Castle Garden. |page=6 |work=Los Angeles Times |id={{ProQuest|163672499}}}}{{Cite news |date=June 18, 1911 |title=Naval Militia 20 Years Old |pages=23 |work=The Sun |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/111125904/naval-militia-20-years-old/ |url-status=live |access-date=October 11, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221012004207/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/111125904/naval-militia-20-years-old/ |archive-date=October 12, 2022}}

File:Battery Park 002.jpg was once housed at Castle Garden (image before 1923).]]

{{see also|New York Aquarium#History}}

Castle Garden was the site of the New York City Aquarium from 1896 to 1941. The structure was extensively altered and roofed over to a height of several stories, though the original masonry fort remained.[http://www.thebattery.org/the-battery/history/ History of The Battery] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141201002930/http://www.thebattery.org/the-battery/history/ |date=December 1, 2014 }}, The Battery Conservancy. Retrieved December 1, 2014. When the fort was converted into an aquarium, the adjacent section of Battery Park was extended into the Hudson River. The interior of Castle Garden contained two circular colonnades, which supported a roof with skylights. Above the center of the fort was a green-and-yellow dome, with a verse of Scripture (Habakkuk 1:15) inscribed into the dome's base.{{cite news |date=April 10, 1904 |title=Pale Green Interior Now.: Historic Building, Once Castle Garden, Repainted for First Time |page=E4 |newspaper=The Washington Post |issn=0190-8286 |id={{ProQuest|144486193}}}}

The aquarium could accommodate 10,000 fish and other species. At the center of the ground story was a large circular pool surrounded by six smaller elliptical pools.{{Cite news |date=August 5, 1894 |title=A Hotel for Fish |pages=15 |work=New-York Tribune|via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/111083035/a-hotel-for-fish/ |access-date=October 11, 2022 |archive-date=October 12, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221012004221/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/111083035/a-hotel-for-fish/ |url-status=live }}{{Cite magazine |date=February 1, 1895 |title=The Aquarium at Castle Garden |volume=27 |issue=2 |page=30 |id={{proQuest|88900721}} |magazine=The Manufacturer and Builder : A Practical Journal of Industrial Progress}} Fish and other marine species were loaded into the aquarium through a doorway at one end of the fort.{{Cite news |date=August 2, 1894 |title=Work on the New Aquarium; To Be Opened at Castle Garden in the Fall |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1894/08/02/archives/work-on-the-new-aquarium-to-be-opened-at-castle-garden-in-the-fall.html |access-date=October 11, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=October 12, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221012004215/https://www.nytimes.com/1894/08/02/archives/work-on-the-new-aquarium-to-be-opened-at-castle-garden-in-the-fall.html |url-status=live }} The perimeter of the aquarium was originally surrounded by about 100 tanks of varying sizes, placed on two levels.{{cite news |date=September 20, 1896 |title=The New-York Aquarium |page=SM4 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |id={{ProQuest|1016134163}}}} The tanks were up to {{convert|6|ft}} deep, with {{convert|1|in|cm|-thick|adj=mid}} plate-glass panes and white-tiled surfaces.{{Cite magazine |title=New Aquarium for New York |magazine=Scientific American |volume=LXXI |issue=24 |date=December 15, 1894 |page=377 |id={{proQuest|126815820}}}} By 1907, there were seven large tanks at the center of the ground story, 94 large tanks and 26 smaller tanks on the walls, and 30 reserve tanks.{{cite news |date=October 6, 1907 |title=Fine Fish Collection: Rare Specimens at Aquarium Seen by 2,000,000 Persons a Year |page=C3 |work=New-York Tribune|id={{ProQuest|571983901}}}} The tanks were supplied by fresh water from the New York City water supply system and salt water from the Hudson River.{{Cite news |date=December 12, 1896 |title=The Castle Garden Aquarium |pages=7 |work=The Buffalo Commercial |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/111088814/the-castle-garden-aquarium/ |access-date=October 11, 2022 |archive-date=October 12, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221012004228/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/111088814/the-castle-garden-aquarium/ |url-status=live }} Salt water passed through two bronze filters, while fresh water passed through two copper filters; the four filters could collectively process over {{convert|200000|gal|L|sp=us}} per day.{{Cite magazine |date=October 19, 1895 |title=The Carter Pressure Water Filter |volume=LXXIII |issue=16 |page=245 |id={{proQuest|126773453}} |magazine=Scientific American}}

The New York City government had proposed converting Castle Garden into an aquarium in 1891.{{Cite magazine |date=March 14, 1891 |title=Planning a Great Aquarium for New York City. |volume=LXIV |issue=11 |page=164 |id={{proQuest|126786059}} |magazine=Scientific American}} The following February, the New York State Legislature passed a bill allowing the city government to create an aquarium within Castle Garden.{{Cite news |date=February 13, 1892 |title=Castle Garden Aquarium.; Text of the Legislative Act Providing for Its Establishment. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1892/02/13/archives/castle-garden-aquarium-text-of-the-legislative-act-pro-viding-for.html |access-date=October 10, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=October 12, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221012004211/https://www.nytimes.com/1892/02/13/archives/castle-garden-aquarium-text-of-the-legislative-act-pro-viding-for.html |url-status=live }}{{cite news |date=February 12, 1892 |title=Proceedings in Both Branches: Grade-Crossing Bills in the Senate—assembly Bills Affecting New-York And Brooklyn for Lengthening the Canal Locks an Irate Mayor Attacks the Governor the Castle Garden Aquarium Bill Signed |page=5 |work=New-York Tribune|id={{ProQuest|573660076}}}} Julius F. Munckwitz Jr. drew up preliminary plans for an aquarium, which he presented to New York City's board of park commissioners in mid-1892.{{Cite magazine |date=June 11, 1892 |title=Proposed Aquarium in New York. |volume=LXVI |issue=24 |page=372 |id={{proQuest|126673842}} |magazine=Scientific American}} The state government voted to allocate $150,000 for the construction of an aquarium within Castle Garden.{{Cite magazine |last=Mather |first=Fred |date=November 13, 1897 |title=The New York Aquarium. |volume=XLIX |issue=20 |page=389 |id={{proQuest|125057580}} |magazine=Forest and Stream; a Journal of Outdoor Life, Travel, Nature Study, Shooting, Fishing, Yachting}} The aquarium's architect of record, H. T. Woodman, reported in April 1894 that several of the tanks were ready for use.{{Cite news |date=April 12, 1894 |title=Discussed Castle Garden Aquarium; Park Commissioners Interested in New-York City's Great Fish Display. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1894/04/12/archives/discussed-castle-garden-aquarium-park-commissioners-interested-in.html |access-date=October 11, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=October 12, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221012004210/https://www.nytimes.com/1894/04/12/archives/discussed-castle-garden-aquarium-park-commissioners-interested-in.html |url-status=live }}{{cite news |date=April 12, 1894 |title=To Stock Castle Garden Aquarium |page=4 |work=New-York Tribune|id={{ProQuest|573912163}}}} During the renovation process, the architect alleged that the tiles in the tanks had not been installed properly,{{Cite news |date=February 8, 1894 |title=Complain of the Aquarium Tiling. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1894/02/08/archives/complain-of-the-aquarium-tiling.html |access-date=October 11, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=October 12, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221012004230/https://www.nytimes.com/1894/02/08/archives/complain-of-the-aquarium-tiling.html |url-status=live }} which led to a protracted dispute.{{Cite news |date=August 2, 1894 |title=Squabble Over Aquarium Tanks; Question Before the Park Board – The Surplus from Big Appropriation. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1894/08/02/archives/squabble-over-aquarium-tanks-question-before-the-park-board-the.html |access-date=October 11, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=October 12, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221012004211/https://www.nytimes.com/1894/08/02/archives/squabble-over-aquarium-tanks-question-before-the-park-board-the.html |url-status=live }} The city government allocated another $25,000 for the aquarium's completion at the end of 1894 ({{Inflation|index=US|value=25000|start_year=1894|r=-3|fmt=eq}}).{{Cite news |date=December 28, 1894 |title=The Budget for 1895; Almost Completed by the Board of Estimate |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1894/12/28/archives/the-budget-for-1895-almost-completed-by-the-board-of-estimate-sum.html |access-date=October 11, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=October 12, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221012004232/https://www.nytimes.com/1894/12/28/archives/the-budget-for-1895-almost-completed-by-the-board-of-estimate-sum.html |url-status=live }}

The aquarium was supposed to have been completed by mid-1894, but it did not open for another two years. By mid-1895, the aquarium was delayed by what the New-York Tribune characterized as "gross stupidity".{{cite news |date=May 12, 1895 |title=Defects in the Aquarium: Why It Is Not Opened to the Public Gross Stupidity Shown in Its Construction, Which It Will Cost Thousands of Dollars to Repair |page=17 |work=New-York Tribune|id={{ProQuest|574043572}}}} For instance, the skylights on the roof acted as a greenhouse that raised the temperature of the water in the tanks, and the saltwater fish in the aquarium were dying off because of the low salinity of the Hudson River. The Tribune estimated that these mistakes had increased the project's cost by $35,000 ({{Inflation|index=US|value=35000|start_year=1895|r=-3|fmt=eq}}). Local media reported in September 1896 that the aquarium was largely completed.{{cite news |date=September 20, 1896 |title=Aquarium Nearly Ready: Old Castle Garden's Doors to Open Again in Three Months Queer Varieties of Sea Life for the Public to Gaze Upon—looking for a White Whale a High and Airy Structure Many Fish in the Pools Already Came Along Uninvited |page=B10 |work=New-York Tribune|id={{ProQuest|574225004}}}} At the time, the tanks contained 45 species, some of which had been in the aquarium for two years. Ultimately, it cost $175,000 to renovate Castle Garden into an aquarium ({{Inflation|index=US|value=175000|start_year=1896|r=-3|fmt=eq}}).

The aquarium opened on December 10, 1896,{{Cite news |date=December 10, 1896 |title=Opening of the Aquarium |pages=2 |work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/111088452/opening-of-the-aquarium/ |access-date=October 11, 2022 |archive-date=October 12, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221012004156/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/111088452/opening-of-the-aquarium/ |url-status=live }}{{cite news |date=December 11, 1896 |title=The Aquarium Now Open: It Is Estimated That 30,000 Persons Saw the Exhibit Yesterday |page=7 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |id={{ProQuest|1016144427}}}} following a soft opening the previous day.{{Cite news |date=December 10, 1896 |title=Aquarium Opens To-Day; It Was Informally Opened Yesterday to Park Board's Guests. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1896/12/10/archives/aquarium-opens-today-it-was-informally-opened-yesterday-to-park.html |access-date=October 11, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=October 12, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221012004207/https://www.nytimes.com/1896/12/10/archives/aquarium-opens-today-it-was-informally-opened-yesterday-to-park.html |url-status=live }}{{cite news |date=December 10, 1896 |title=Reception at the Aquarium: Luncheon Served to Invited Guests in the Laboratory—to Be Opened To-Day |page=10 |work=New-York Tribune|id={{ProQuest|574253878}}}} The aquarium attracted thousands of visitors on its opening day, and it averaged over 10,000 visitors per day during its first several months. Visitors were not charged admission, which may have contributed to the aquarium's popularity.{{Cite news |last=Martin |first=Douglas |date=December 12, 1996 |title=Aquarium Turns 100 With Renewed Popularity |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/12/12/nyregion/aquarium-turns-100-with-renewed-popularity.html |access-date=October 10, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=May 26, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150526163428/http://www.nytimes.com/1996/12/12/nyregion/aquarium-turns-100-with-renewed-popularity.html |url-status=live }} The aquarium had two million guests within a year, and it had 5.5 million total guests by May 1900.{{Cite magazine |last=Bristol |first=Charles L. |date=Aug 1900 |title=Treasures of the New York Aquarium. |volume=LX |issue=4 |page=553 |id={{ProQuest|125508815}} |magazine=Century Illustrated Magazine}}

File:Clinton castle 1 (7846062686).jpg

In March 1902, New York state legislators proposed transferring operation of the New York Aquarium to the New York Zoological Society.{{Cite news |date=March 18, 1902 |title=Change for Aquarium; Bill Introduced Placing It Under Management of Zoological Society. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1902/03/18/archives/change-for-aquarium-bill-introduced-placing-it-under-management-of.html |access-date=October 11, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=October 12, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221012004232/https://www.nytimes.com/1902/03/18/archives/change-for-aquarium-bill-introduced-placing-it-under-management-of.html |url-status=live }} City officials had suggested the idea to remove political interference from the aquarium's operation.{{Cite news |date=October 25, 1902 |title=City Cedes the Aquarium |pages=1 |work=New-York Tribune|via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/111119183/city-cedes-the-aquarium/ |access-date=October 11, 2022 |archive-date=October 12, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221012004211/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/111119183/city-cedes-the-aquarium/ |url-status=live }} The New York City Board of Estimate authorized mayor Seth Low to lease the aquarium to the Zoological Society in July 1902,{{Cite news |date=July 28, 1902 |title=Sites for Libraries |pages=4 |work=Times Union |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/111118824/sites-for-libraries/ |access-date=October 11, 2022 |archive-date=October 12, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221012004207/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/111118824/sites-for-libraries/ |url-status=live }} and the Zoological Society took over on October 31, 1902, with Charles Haskins Townsend as the aquarium's director.{{Cite news |date=November 1, 1902 |title=Aquarium Transferred |pages=9 |work=New-York Tribune|via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/111118704/aquarium-transferred/ |access-date=October 11, 2022 |archive-date=October 12, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221012004211/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/111118704/aquarium-transferred/ |url-status=live }} Townsend soon made several modifications to Castle Garden's facilities. He covered the tanks' tiled surfaces with rocks,{{cite news |date=April 19, 1903 |title=Many Improvements at Aquarium: Exhibition Tanks to Be Lined With Rock—Much Interest in Hatchery |page=4 |work=New-York Tribune|id={{ProQuest|571374122}}}}{{Cite news |date=December 20, 1903 |title=Overhauling the Aquarium; Director Townsend Spending $30,000 To Make It a More Attractive and Valuable Resort. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1903/12/20/archives/overhauling-the-aquarium-director-townsend-spending-30000-to-make.html |access-date=October 11, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}} as well as reconfiguring each of the tanks' pipes to reduce energy usage.{{cite news |date=April 24, 1903 |title=Many Changes Made: Improvements at Aquarium Under New Director |page=9 |work=New-York Tribune|id={{ProQuest|571377515}}}} The Zoological Society added a classroom next to the fort, and it installed a {{convert|100000|gal|L|sp=us|adj=on}} tank underneath the fort to store saltwater.{{Cite news |date=June 5, 1904 |title=Comforts of Home for Aquarium Fishes. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1904/06/05/archives/comforts-of-home-for-aquarium-fishes.html |access-date=October 11, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=October 12, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221012004222/https://www.nytimes.com/1904/06/05/archives/comforts-of-home-for-aquarium-fishes.html |url-status=live }} The organization also repainted the interior for the first time in Castle Garden's history. These modifications cost over $30,000 ({{Inflation|index=US|value=30000|start_year=1902|r=-3|fmt=eq}}). The fort's design continued to pose issues; for example, aquarium officials discovered in 1905 that the roof skylights were causing some of the fish to become blind.{{Cite news |date=March 19, 1905 |title=Fish Blind From Glare in Tile-Lined Tanks; Aquarium Officials Disturbed Over Unusual Conditions |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1905/03/19/archives/fish-blind-from-glare-in-tilelined-tanks-aquarium-officials.html |access-date=October 11, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=October 12, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221012004231/https://www.nytimes.com/1905/03/19/archives/fish-blind-from-glare-in-tilelined-tanks-aquarium-officials.html |url-status=live }} The Zoological Society installed new pipes at Castle Garden in 1908.{{Cite news |date=June 7, 1908 |title=Bermuda Sea Water for Aquarium Fish; 100,000 Gallons to Be Brought Here on a Steamer and Kept Pure by a New System |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1908/06/07/archives/bermuda-sea-water-for-aquarium-fish-100000-gallons-to-be-brought.html |access-date=October 11, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=October 12, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221012004238/https://www.nytimes.com/1908/06/07/archives/bermuda-sea-water-for-aquarium-fish-100000-gallons-to-be-brought.html |url-status=live }}

Meanwhile, by the early 20th century, city officials were planning to rebuild Battery Park,{{harvnb|Gilder|1936|ps=.|p=240}} and they considered replacing Castle Garden with a skyscraper.{{Cite news |last=Erhard |first=Ursinus |date=July 30, 1911 |title=To Demolish Castle Garden: Skyscraper for Site of Old Landmark Fight to Save Historic Structure; Items of Local Interest |page=34 |work=San Francisco Chronicle |id={{proQuest|573952460}}}} By January 1911, officials instead planned to expand Castle Garden,{{Cite news |date=January 11, 1911 |title=New Aquarium Is Planned |pages=2 |work=The Sun |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/111126174/new-aquarium-is-planned/ |access-date=October 11, 2022 |archive-date=October 12, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221012004239/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/111126174/new-aquarium-is-planned/ |url-status=live }}{{Cite news |date=January 15, 1911 |title=Famous Aquarium to Be Enlarged |pages=41 |work=The New York Times |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/111126050/famous-aquarium-to-be-enlarged/ |access-date=October 11, 2022 |archive-date=October 12, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221012004214/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/111126050/famous-aquarium-to-be-enlarged/ |url-status=live }} adding semicircular wings to the west and east for over $1 million.{{cite news |date=August 20, 1911 |title=New Barge Office and Aquarium to Embellish Manhattan's Free Resort Yclept the Battery: Historic Structures Will Be Replaced by Notable and Expensive Landmarks |page=A3 |work=New-York Tribune|id={{ProQuest|574801218}}}} Each wing was to contain three tiers of tanks and classroom space.{{cite news |date=August 8, 1912 |title=Enlarge Castle Garden |page=6 |work=New-York Tribune|id={{ProQuest|574963941}}}} The Zoological Society asked the Board of Estimate to allocate $1.75 million to the renovation,{{Cite magazine |date=June 3, 1911 |title=New York Aquarium |volume=LXXVI |issue=22 |page=16 |id={{proQuest|124959825}} |magazine=Forest and Stream; a Journal of Outdoor Life, Travel, Nature Study, Shooting, Fishing, Yachting (1873–1930)}}{{Cite news |date=May 28, 1912 |title=Urges Castle Garden Wing |pages=6 |work=The New York Times |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/111126403/urges-castle-garden-wing/ |access-date=October 11, 2022 |archive-date=October 12, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221012004224/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/111126403/urges-castle-garden-wing/ |url-status=live }} but the board still had not funded the renovation of Castle Garden by 1916. Townsend said the aquarium's mechanical facilities needed major upgrades;{{Cite news |date=August 22, 1915 |title=Classic Greek Temple Planned to Enclose Aquarium |pages=47 |work=The Sun |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/111128087/classic-greek-temple-planned-to-enclose/ |access-date=October 11, 2022 |archive-date=October 12, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221012004206/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/111128087/classic-greek-temple-planned-to-enclose/ |url-status=live }} according to Townsend, the mechanical equipment under the fort was flooded at high tide, and power was provided by coal bunkers, which had to be manually replenished every four days.{{Cite news |date=November 26, 1916 |title=City Asked to Help Improve Aquarium; Park Commissioner Ward Gives Approval to Plan Now Before Estimate Board |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1916/11/26/archives/city-asked-to-help-improve-aquarium-park-commissioner-ward-gives.html |access-date=October 11, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=October 12, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221012004213/https://www.nytimes.com/1916/11/26/archives/city-asked-to-help-improve-aquarium-park-commissioner-ward-gives.html |url-status=live }} In addition, the fort had never been properly renovated for the aquarium's use, and the second story's wooden frame was flammable. Townsend said the annexes would not only provide additional exhibition space but also allow the mechanical facilities to be upgraded.

In 1921, Townsend announced that the Zoological Society would spend $75,000 ({{Inflation|index=US|value=75000|start_year=1921|r=-3|fmt=eq}}) to construct an electric plant in the basement, replacing a steam plant on the south side of the fort, and then install two tanks in the space formerly occupied by the steam plant.{{Cite news|date=April 19, 1921|title=Aquarium to Be Enlarged; Monsters of Sea to Be Shown in New Tanks at Battery Park.|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1921/04/19/archives/aquarium-to-be-enlarged-monsters-of-sea-to-be-shown-in-new-tanks-at.html|access-date=October 11, 2022|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=May 13, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190513144109/https://www.nytimes.com/1921/04/19/archives/aquarium-to-be-enlarged-monsters-of-sea-to-be-shown-in-new-tanks-at.html|url-status=live}} This work was funded by a bequest from Mrs. Russell Sage.{{Cite news |date=August 12, 1923 |title=Changes at the Aquarium to Make It World Model; Old Building Which Houses Collection of Fish Has Had Eventful Past – Once a Fort, Then Jenny Laid Sang There – Used for Immigrant Station, And Finally for Present Exhibit. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1923/08/12/archives/changes-at-the-aquarium-to-make-it-world-model-old-building-which.html |access-date=October 11, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=October 12, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221012004230/https://www.nytimes.com/1923/08/12/archives/changes-at-the-aquarium-to-make-it-world-model-old-building-which.html |url-status=live }} The same year, a bust of Jenny Lind was dedicated and installed at the center of the fort.{{Cite news |date=January 18, 1921 |title=Place Bust of Jenny Lind; In the Aquarium, Once Castle Garden, Where She Made Her Debut. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1921/01/18/archives/place-bust-of-jenny-lind-in-the-aquarium-once-castle-garden-where.html |access-date=October 11, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=October 12, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221012004220/https://www.nytimes.com/1921/01/18/archives/place-bust-of-jenny-lind-in-the-aquarium-once-castle-garden-where.html |url-status=live }} The Board of Estimate voted in December 1921 to provide $105,000 for the construction of an additional story atop the fort.{{Cite news |date=December 30, 1921 |title=Aquarium to Be Enlarged.: Second Story Is to Be Added to 114-Year-Old Building |page=2 |work=Cincinnati Enquirer |id={{proQuest|866645648}}}} By early 1923, the Zoological Society was carrying out the renovations at a cost of $86,000 ({{Inflation|index=US|value=86000|start_year=1923|r=-3|fmt=eq}}).{{Cite news |date=January 10, 1923 |title=Flash Animal Life Upon the Screen; Films Shown at Zoological Society Meeting Depict Work at Tropical Station |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1923/01/10/archives/flash-animal-life-upon-the-screen-films-shown-at-zoological-so.html |access-date=October 11, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=October 12, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221012004233/https://www.nytimes.com/1923/01/10/archives/flash-animal-life-upon-the-screen-films-shown-at-zoological-so.html |url-status=live }} In June 1923, the board voted to give $76,500 for the construction of an additional story above the fort.{{cite news |date=June 9, 1923 |title=$76,500 Voted to Add Second Story to Historic Aquarium: Growth in Fish Family Supported by Gty Makes More. Room Necessary at Venerable Structure on Battery Sea Wall, Formerly Castle Garden |page=8 |work=New-York Tribune|id={{ProQuest|1237274035}}}}{{Cite news |date=June 5, 1923 |title=Man Breaks Rule for Art Institute; Votes to Spend $1,050,000 For Two Wings to the Building in Brooklyn |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1923/06/05/archives/man-breaks-rule-for-art-institute-votes-to-spend-1050000-for-two.html |access-date=October 11, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=October 12, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221012004304/https://www.nytimes.com/1923/06/05/archives/man-breaks-rule-for-art-institute-votes-to-spend-1050000-for-two.html |url-status=live }} The Zoological Society planned to add deeper tanks on the second floor, expanding exhibition space by 20 percent. By then, the aquarium had two million annual visitors. The expansion was largely completed by early 1924.{{Cite news |date=March 16, 1924 |title=Aquarium Will Soon Have All Modern Improvements |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1924/03/16/archives/aquarium-will-soon-have-all-modern-improvements.html |access-date=October 11, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=October 12, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221012004211/https://www.nytimes.com/1924/03/16/archives/aquarium-will-soon-have-all-modern-improvements.html |url-status=live }}

Townsend announced in 1926 that Castle Garden would undergo further modifications at a cost of $225,000 ({{Inflation|index=US|value=225000|start_year=1926|r=-3|fmt=eq}}). The plans included constructing a third story for workrooms and laboratory space, installing tanks behind the fort, adding a new mechanical plant in the basement, and covering the facade with a gray cement finish.{{cite news |date=July 11, 1926 |title=Aquarium Changes to Cost $225,000: Historic Building's Appearance Will Be Greatly Improved by the Alterations. Third Floor to Be Added City's Share of Expense $130,000 – Balance Contributed by Private Donors. |page=E1 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |id={{ProQuest|103673794}}}} Several local residents expressed opposition to these modifications and created the Battery Park Association to advocate against the plans.{{cite news |id={{ProQuest|1112767276}} |title=Battery Park Group To Restore Beauty And Fight Smoke: Association Incorporates to Preserve Park Rich in History; Aquarium Addition Attacked as Unsightly |date=April 28, 1926 |page=4 |work=The New York Herald, New-York Tribune}}{{cite news |id={{ProQuest|103899658}} |title=Aquarium, Eyesore; Peanut Stands, Art |date=April 29, 1926 |page=25 |work=The New York Times|issn=0362-4331}} By the late 1920s, there were plans to reconstruct Battery Park into a formal vista. As part of this plan, an amphitheater would have been constructed in the southern end of Battery Park, complementing Castle Garden at the northern end.{{Cite news |last=Wilson |first=P. W. |date=February 3, 1929 |title=A New Battery Park as Designers See It; The Immigrants' Monument |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1929/02/03/archives/a-new-battery-park-as-designers-see-it-the-immigrants-monument.html |url-status=live |access-date=May 10, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190510150248/https://www.nytimes.com/1929/02/03/archives/a-new-battery-park-as-designers-see-it-the-immigrants-monument.html |archive-date=May 10, 2019 |issn=0362-4331}} The Castle Garden Aquarium remained popular in the 1930s, with two million visitors per year.{{cite news |date=January 9, 1935 |title=5 Million Mark Passed at Zoo And Aquarium: Attendance Increased in 1934, Zoological Society Hears at Yearly Meeting Conservation Work Aided Grant Gets Funds to Create Bear Sanctuary in Alaska |page=15 |work=New York Herald Tribune|issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1237343832}}}} Two laboratories were built on the structure's third story in 1940,{{cite news |id={{ProQuest|1243048889}} |title=City Improves Zoo in Bronx And Aquarium: Park Adds $100,000 African Plains Group to Exhibits; Pool for Blind Cave Fish The 'African Plains' Begin to Take Form at the New York Zoological Park |date=August 18, 1940 |page=A5 |issn=1941-0646 |work=New York Herald Tribune}} and a new metal dome was installed above the fort the same year.{{cite news |id={{ProQuest|1243028704}} |title=Aquarium Gets Metal Dome to Stop 158 Leaks: Fish Object to Tarry Rain; Lighting Also Improved; New Director Takes Hold |date=July 21, 1940 |page=A2 |issn=1941-0646 |work=New York Herald Tribune}} By then, the aquarium's acting director Charles M. Breder Jr. wished to develop a new building nearby, as he believed the aquarium had outgrown Castle Garden.{{cite news |id={{ProQuest|1244629911}} |title=New Aquarium Is Proposed, Of Radical Design: Dr. Breder, Acting Head of Institution, Writes Plan for Building Which Would 'Co-Ordinate Aquatic Life' |date=December 9, 1938 |page=25 |issn=1941-0646 |work=New York Herald Tribune}}{{Cite news|date=December 9, 1938|title=Modern Aquarium for the City Is Proposed; Would Give Wider Knowledge of Exhibits|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1938/12/09/archives/modern-aquarium-for-the-city-is-proposed-would-give-wider-knowledge.html|access-date=October 12, 2022|issn=0362-4331}}

In February 1941, Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority Commissioner Robert Moses announced that he would demolish Castle Garden when the park was rebuilt during the Brooklyn–Battery Tunnel's construction.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1941/02/08/archives/battery-aquarium-to-be-demolished-doomed-by-brooklyn-tunnel-it-will.html|title=Battery Aquarium to Be Demolished; Doomed by Brooklyn Tunnel, It Will Be Replaced by a Modern One in Bronx|date=February 8, 1941|work=The New York Times|access-date=March 21, 2018|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=March 22, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180322015949/https://www.nytimes.com/1941/02/08/archives/battery-aquarium-to-be-demolished-doomed-by-brooklyn-tunnel-it-will.html|url-status=live}}{{cite news |date=February 7, 1941 |title=Moses Says Historic Battery Building That Began as Fort in 1807 Will Be Demolished During Construction of Tunnel to Brooklyn |page=1 |work=New York Herald Tribune|issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1258860043}}}} He justified the demolition by saying that the fort had poor lighting and ventilation and that it required extensive repairs. In response, the New-York Historical Society proposed restoring the fort and turning it into a maritime museum.{{Cite news |date=March 24, 1941 |title=Aquarium Barrage Turned on Moses; New York-Historical Society Would Preserve Landmark That He Would Raze |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1941/03/24/archives/aquarium-barrage-turned-on-moses-new-yorkhistorical-society-would.html |access-date=October 8, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=October 9, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221009225438/https://www.nytimes.com/1941/03/24/archives/aquarium-barrage-turned-on-moses-new-yorkhistorical-society-would.html |url-status=live }} George McAneny, a former mayor and the chairman of the Regional Plan Association's board, proposed restoring Castle Garden;{{cite news |date=April 24, 1941 |title=Aquarium May Be Restored as Castle Clinton: McAneny Discusses Plan to Remove Outer Shell of Old Federal Fort |page=37 |work=New York Herald Tribune|issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1260683745}}}}{{Cite news |date=April 24, 1941 |title=Sees a 'Boom' Area on Rim of Wall St.; McAneny Says 'El' Removals Assure Rehabilitation of Shoddy District |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1941/04/24/archives/sees-a-boom-area-on-rim-of-wall-st-mcaneny-says-el-removals-assure.html |access-date=October 8, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=October 9, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221009225437/https://www.nytimes.com/1941/04/24/archives/sees-a-boom-area-on-rim-of-wall-st-mcaneny-says-el-removals-assure.html |url-status=live }} he continued to advocate the fort's preservation for nine years.{{Cite news |last=Barron |first=James |date=March 7, 2022 |title=This Price Surge Really Hits New Yorkers Hard |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/07/nyregion/new-york-price-surge.html |access-date=October 10, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=September 27, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220927215115/https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/07/nyregion/new-york-price-surge.html |url-status=live }} Moses opposed efforts to preserve Castle Garden, saying that the old fort "never fired a shot".{{Cite news |date=June 26, 1942 |title=Aquarium Doomed by Estimate Board; Moses Scoffs at Proposal to Restore Old Fort, Saying It 'Never Fired a Shot' |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1942/06/26/archives/aquarium-doomed-by-estimate-board-moses-scoffs-at-proposal-to.html |access-date=March 22, 2018 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=March 22, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180322082100/https://www.nytimes.com/1942/06/26/archives/aquarium-doomed-by-estimate-board-moses-scoffs-at-proposal-to.html |url-status=live }} The city government closed the New York Aquarium and moved some fish and turtles to other aquariums in late 1941;{{Cite news |date=September 23, 1941 |title=Fish to Leave Old Home; Aquarium to Start Dispersing Thousands of Specimens |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1941/09/23/archives/fish-to-leave-old-home-aquarium-to-start-dispersing-thousands-of.html |access-date=March 21, 2018 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=March 22, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180322015515/https://www.nytimes.com/1941/09/23/archives/fish-to-leave-old-home-aquarium-to-start-dispersing-thousands-of.html |url-status=live }}{{cite news |date=September 22, 1941 |title=Aquarium Bids Fond Au Revoir To Its Turtles: Sends Them to Philadelphia; Building's Past Recalled in Nostalgic Broadcast |page=6 |work=New York Herald Tribune|issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1320057626}}}} other fish were released into the Atlantic Ocean.{{cite news |date=October 2, 1941 |title=Last 200 Aquarium Fish Dumped Back Into Ocean: Five Tagged Sand Sharks and a Sting Ray Among Them |page=47 |work=New York Herald Tribune|issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1256111214}}}} A new aquarium was ultimately built on Coney Island in 1957.{{Cite Power Broker}}

File:Castle Clinton aerial view.jpg

Moses presented plans for a reconstruction of Battery Park to the Board of Estimate in March 1942, in which the fort was to be replaced by a landscaped promenade.{{cite news |date=March 23, 1942 |title=Moses Outlines Reconstruction Of Battery Park: Plan Submitted to Mayor Asks Aquarium Demolition and New Vista of Harbor Battery Park as It Would Appear After Reconstruction Planned by Moses |page=13 |work=New York Herald Tribune|issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1267817403}}}}{{Cite news |date=March 23, 1942 |title=Moses Plans a New Battery Park, Minus the Old Aquarium Building; Proposes Broad Avenue With Vista of Statue of Liberty – Decision on the Project Is Necessary, He Tells Estimate Board |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1942/03/23/archives/moses-plans-a-new-battery-park-minus-the-old-aquarium-building.html |access-date=October 8, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=October 9, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221009225438/https://www.nytimes.com/1942/03/23/archives/moses-plans-a-new-battery-park-minus-the-old-aquarium-building.html |url-status=live }} The board voted in favor of removing the fort from Battery Park that June.{{cite news |date=June 26, 1942 |title=Aquarium Fight Is Won by Moses; It Will Be Razed: Board of Estimate Spurns Sentimentalists and Acts for a New Battery Park |page=1A |work=New York Herald Tribune|issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1266855602}}}} City officials quickly placed the fort for sale, allowing potential buyers to preserve the fort by relocating it,{{cite news |date=July 10, 1942 |title=Aquarium Put Up for Sale to Highest Bidder: City Will Open Offers Next Friday Buyer Must Clear Sile, Will Get No Fish Cedar Shore Guests Smith Thru" Their Camp Motto |page=13 |work=New York Herald Tribune|issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1266914657}}}} but the officials rejected the sole bid from a Brooklyn junkyard operator who offered $1,120 ({{Inflation|index=US|value=1120|start_year=1942|r=0|fmt=eq}}).{{cite news |date=July 18, 1942 |title=Junk Man Files Lone 1,120 Bid For Aquarium: Even He's Not Very Sorry Offer Is Rejected; Moses May Demolish Landmark |page=7 |work=New York Herald Tribune|issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1320060859}}}} The Fine Arts Federation of New York held an architectural design competition in August 1942, soliciting plans for a renovation of Castle Garden.{{Cite news |date=August 26, 1942 |title=Aquarium Designs Win Awards; All Provide Saving Structure; Architects' Works, In Contrast to Demolition Plan, Are Selected – Moses at Board Meeting, Defends His Proposal |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1942/08/26/archives/aquarium-designs-win-awards-all-provide-saving-structure-architects.html |access-date=October 8, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=March 13, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180313221005/https://www.nytimes.com/1942/08/26/archives/aquarium-designs-win-awards-all-provide-saving-structure-architects.html |url-status=live }}{{cite news |date=August 26, 1942 |title=Aquarium Row Is Back to Haunt Estimate Board: Moses Renews Feud With Demolition Opponents as Ratification Is Requested |page=15 |work=New York Herald Tribune|issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1320066814}}}} Despite ongoing disputes over the fort's fate, workers began removing metal from Castle Garden on September 25, while the rest of the building remained in place for the time being.{{Cite news |date=September 26, 1942 |title=City Acts to Rush Building Razings; Moses Will Submit a List of Useless Structures to U.S. For Scrap Pile |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1942/09/26/archives/city-acts-to-rush-building-razings-moses-will-submit-a-list-of.html |access-date=October 8, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=October 9, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221009225438/https://www.nytimes.com/1942/09/26/archives/city-acts-to-rush-building-razings-moses-will-submit-a-list-of.html |url-status=live }}{{cite news |date=September 26, 1942 |title=Wrecker Crew Beats Dirge on Aquarium Roof: Quaint Cupola Yields Its Scrap Metal First, And Landmark's End Is Near |page=13 |work=New York Herald Tribune|issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1324147126}}}} The fort's original door, attached to the wall using 768 iron bolts, was also removed.{{cite news |last=O'Reilly |first=John |date=April 8, 1953 |title=Old Lock Goes Back to New Castle Clinton |page=42 |work=New York Herald Tribune|issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1319989227}}}}

An engineer hired by Moses to conduct a structural survey of Fort Clinton reported a "pronounced vertical crack" on the fort's walls.{{Cite news |date=September 19, 1942 |title=Foundation Flaws Found in Aquarium; 'Pronounced Vertical Crack in Wall' Reported by Engineer on Behalf of Moses |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1942/09/19/archives/foundation-flaws-found-in-aquarium-pronounced-vertical-crack-in.html |access-date=October 8, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=October 9, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221009225457/https://www.nytimes.com/1942/09/19/archives/foundation-flaws-found-in-aquarium-pronounced-vertical-crack-in.html |url-status=live }} Preservationists asked a New York state judge to grant an injunction to prevent demolition,{{Cite news |date=August 20, 1942 |title=Injunction Sought to Save Aquarium; Suit Today Will Ask Court to Restrain Moses From Razing Fort Clinton |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1942/08/20/archives/injunction-sought-to-save-aquarium-suit-today-will-ask-court-to.html |access-date=March 22, 2018 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=March 22, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180322082203/https://www.nytimes.com/1942/08/20/archives/injunction-sought-to-save-aquarium-suit-today-will-ask-court-to.html |url-status=live }}{{cite news |date=August 20, 1942 |title=Foes of Moses Institute Suit to Save Aquarium: Injunction Sought in Final Effort to Balk Razing of Battery Park Landmark |page=13 |work=New York Herald Tribune|issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1341665665}}}} but a judge declined the request in April 1943.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1943/04/25/archives/moses-wins-fight-to-raze-aquarium-court-of-appeals-has-denied.html|title=Moses Wins Fight to Raze Aquarium; Court of Appeals Has Denied Injunction Sought by Civic Groups Opposing Him|date=April 25, 1943|work=The New York Times|access-date=March 22, 2018|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=March 22, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180322082339/https://www.nytimes.com/1943/04/25/archives/moses-wins-fight-to-raze-aquarium-court-of-appeals-has-denied.html|url-status=live}} Preservationists again petitioned the Board of Estimate to preserve the building, but the board voted in October 1945 to demolish the fort.{{cite news |date=October 12, 1945 |title=Moses Wins Battery Park Fight, Aquarium Will Be Torn Down |page=1 |work=New York Herald Tribune|issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1287102702}}}}{{Cite news |date=October 12, 1945 |title=Board Acts to Get Land for Center; Sets Aside $980,000 To Buy the Site in Brooklyn for New $50,000,000 Project Moses, Cashmore Approve |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1945/10/12/archives/board-acts-to-get-land-for-center-sets-aside-980000-to-buy-the-site.html |access-date=October 9, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=October 9, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221009225439/https://www.nytimes.com/1945/10/12/archives/board-acts-to-get-land-for-center-sets-aside-980000-to-buy-the-site.html |url-status=live }}

File:Castle-Clinton-National-Monument-Entrance-Plaque.jpg

Albert S. Bard, Walter D. Binger, and other civic reformers continued to advocate in favor of preserving the fort. In July 1946, U.S. representative Sol Bloom introduced a bill to designate Castle Garden as a U.S. national monument.{{Cite news |date=July 24, 1946 |title=Committee Approves Congressional Bill To Save Old Aquarium as National Shrine |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1946/07/24/archives/committee-approves-congressional-bill-to-save-old-aquarium-as.html |access-date=October 9, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=October 9, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221009225439/https://www.nytimes.com/1946/07/24/archives/committee-approves-congressional-bill-to-save-old-aquarium-as.html |url-status=live }}{{cite news |date=July 24, 1946 |title=Congress Move Begun to Save Old Aquarium: Bloom Acts to Preserve Battery Park Landmark, Now Facing Destruction |page=1 |work=New York Herald Tribune|issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1291153974}}}} Both the House and the Senate approved the legislation,{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1946/07/31/archives/senate-approves-the-aquarium-bill-measure-to-set-up-the-castle.html|title=Senate Approves the Aquarium Bill; Measure to Set Up the Castle Clinton National Monument Is Sent to Truman|date=July 31, 1946|work=The New York Times|access-date=March 22, 2018|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=March 22, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180322082336/https://www.nytimes.com/1946/07/31/archives/senate-approves-the-aquarium-bill-measure-to-set-up-the-castle.html|url-status=live}}{{cite news |date=July 31, 1946 |title=Congress Puts Aquarium Fate Up to Truman: Senate Passes Bill to Let U. S. Take Over Building as a National Monument |page=1 |work=New York Herald Tribune|issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1287123168}}}} and president Harry S. Truman signed the bill into law on August 12, 1946, enabling the United States Department of the Interior to determine whether to take over the fort.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1946/08/13/archives/aquarium-block-made-a-monument-truman-signs-bill-designating-castle.html|title=Aquarium Block Made a Monument; Truman Signs Bill Designating Castle Clinton, Battery Park, A National Shrine|date=August 13, 1946|work=The New York Times|access-date=March 22, 2018|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=March 22, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180322082209/https://www.nytimes.com/1946/08/13/archives/aquarium-block-made-a-monument-truman-signs-bill-designating-castle.html|url-status=live}} At the time, the city government still owned the property, and the fort could not become a national monument unless the federal government took ownership.{{cite news |date=August 18, 1946 |title=Aquarium To Be National Shrine On Title Change: Federal Government Must Take Over; Restoration Awaits Work on Tunnel |page=19 |work=New York Herald Tribune|issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1267974541}}}} Engineers estimated that it would cost between $40,000 and $100,000 to preserve the fort while the Brooklyn–Battery Tunnel was being constructed.{{Cite news |date=August 16, 1946 |title=Aquarium Project Surveyed by City; $40,000 To $100,000 Needed to Keep Shell Intact While Tunnel Link Is Built |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1946/08/16/archives/aquarium-project-surveyed-by-city-40000-to-100000-needed-to-keep.html |access-date=October 9, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=October 9, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221009225439/https://www.nytimes.com/1946/08/16/archives/aquarium-project-surveyed-by-city-40000-to-100000-needed-to-keep.html |url-status=live }} The city government would only retain the fort if the federal government agreed to pay for its restoration, though Moses did suggest constructing a monument on the site.{{Cite news |date=April 10, 1947 |title=A Proposed Improvement for the City's Battery Park |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1947/04/10/archives/a-proposed-improvement-for-the-citys-battery-park.html |access-date=May 13, 2019 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=May 13, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190513144111/https://www.nytimes.com/1947/04/10/archives/a-proposed-improvement-for-the-citys-battery-park.html |url-status=live }} After the United States Congress declined to allocate funding for Fort Clinton's renovation, the Board of Estimate voted yet again to demolish the fort in July 1947.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1947/07/25/archives/city-votes-death-of-old-aquarium-5year-controversy-is-ended-as.html|title=City Votes Death of Old Aquarium; 5-Year Controversy Is Ended as Board of Estimate Allots $50,000 For Demolition|last=Crowelx|first=Paul|date=July 25, 1947|work=The New York Times|access-date=March 22, 2018|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=March 23, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180323040803/https://www.nytimes.com/1947/07/25/archives/city-votes-death-of-old-aquarium-5year-controversy-is-ended-as.html|url-status=live}}{{cite news |date=July 25, 1947 |title=Aquarium Razing Voted by City As U.S. Bars Rehabiliation Now |page=1 |work=New York Herald Tribune|issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1323856498}}}} Some demolition work did take place,{{Cite news |last=Horne |first=George |date=September 21, 1958 |title=Museum and Restaurant Urged For Aquarium Site at Battery; Architect Sends Proposal and Plans to National Park Service – Moses, Long Foe of Old Fort, Scoffs at Idea |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1958/09/21/archives/museum-and-restaurant-urged-for-aquarium-site-at-battery-architect.html |access-date=October 8, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=October 9, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221009225439/https://www.nytimes.com/1958/09/21/archives/museum-and-restaurant-urged-for-aquarium-site-at-battery-architect.html |url-status=live }} but the structure was not totally demolished due to a lack of funding.{{cite news |last=Lister |first=Walter Jr. |date=April 6, 1950 |title=Castle Clinton May Open Soon As Monument: U.S. To Start Restoration of Former Aquarium After O'Dwyer Signs Over Deed |page=16 |work=New York Herald Tribune|issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1326824359}}}}

After Interior undersecretary Oscar L. Chapman indicated in August 1947 that Congress would allocate money to the project in 1948, the board voted to delay further action for one year. In the meantime, the city allocated $50,000 ({{Inflation|index=US|value=50000|start_year=1947|r=-3|fmt=eq}}) to shore up the fort's southeastern corner while the tunnel was being built.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1947/08/28/archives/city-to-give-government-chance-to-prevent-aquarium-demolition-board.html|title=City to Give Government Chance To Prevent Aquarium Demolition; Board of Estimate Agrees to Delay Razing of Castle Clinton to Permit Congress to Vote Funds for Restoration|date=August 28, 1947|work=The New York Times|access-date=March 22, 2018|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=March 23, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180323035236/https://www.nytimes.com/1947/08/28/archives/city-to-give-government-chance-to-prevent-aquarium-demolition-board.html|url-status=live}}{{Cite news |date=August 28, 1947 |title=City to Give Government Chance To Prevent Aquarium Demolition; Board of Estimate Agrees to Delay Razing of Castle Clinton to Permit Congress to Vote Funds for Restoration |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1947/08/28/archives/city-to-give-government-chance-to-prevent-aquarium-demolition-board.html |access-date=October 9, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=March 23, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180323035236/https://www.nytimes.com/1947/08/28/archives/city-to-give-government-chance-to-prevent-aquarium-demolition-board.html |url-status=live }} In March 1948, a New York State Assembly committee refused to vote on a bill that would have allowed the federal government to take over Fort Clinton.{{Cite news |last=Dales |first=Douglas |date=March 5, 1948 |title=State Jobless Aid Raised by Senate; Democrats Hit $900,000,000 Ceiling on Reserve, Doubling Refunds to Employers |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1948/03/05/archives/state-jobless-aid-raised-by-senate-democrats-hit-900000000-ceiling.html |access-date=October 9, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=October 9, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221009225454/https://www.nytimes.com/1948/03/05/archives/state-jobless-aid-raised-by-senate-democrats-hit-900000000-ceiling.html |url-status=live }}{{cite news |date=March 5, 1948 |title=In the State Legislature: Senate Votes to Raise Unemployment Aid to $26 a Week; Fort Clinton Transfer to U. S. Barred |page=12 |work=New York Herald Tribune|issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1326790973}}}} Two months later, the Board of Estimate voted to demolish the castle for the sixth time.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1948/05/28/archives/estimate-board-votes-to-complete-demolition-of-old-aquarium-here.html|title=Estimate Board Votes to Complete Demolition of Old Aquarium Here|date=May 28, 1948|work=The New York Times|access-date=March 22, 2018|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=March 23, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180323035252/https://www.nytimes.com/1948/05/28/archives/estimate-board-votes-to-complete-demolition-of-old-aquarium-here.html|url-status=live}} The American Scenic and Historic Preservation Society continued to advocate for the fort's preservation, asking the New York Supreme Court to restrict the city from demolishing Fort Clinton in July 1948.{{Cite news |date=July 14, 1948 |title=Court Weighs Plea to Save Aquarium; Historic Preservation Society Seeks to Restrain Wrecking of Battery Structure |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1948/07/14/archives/court-weighs-plea-to-save-aquarium-historic-preservation-society.html |access-date=October 9, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=October 9, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221009225440/https://www.nytimes.com/1948/07/14/archives/court-weighs-plea-to-save-aquarium-historic-preservation-society.html |url-status=live }}{{cite news |date=July 14, 1948 |title=Reprieve Won In Attempt to Save Aquarium: Judge May Rule Within 2 Weeks in Suit Brought by Alexander Hamilton |page=16 |work=New York Herald Tribune|issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1327393573}}}} The state Supreme Court issued an injunction that December, requiring the New York City Art Commission to approve any proposal to demolish the fort,{{Cite news |date=December 14, 1948 |title=Ancient Aquarium Wins New Chance; Court Bars Its Demolition Unless Act Is Approved by City Art Commission |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1948/12/14/archives/ancient-aquarium-wins-new-chance-court-bars-its-demolition-unless.html |access-date=October 9, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=March 13, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180313003323/https://www.nytimes.com/1948/12/14/archives/ancient-aquarium-wins-new-chance-court-bars-its-demolition-unless.html |url-status=live }}{{cite news |date=December 14, 1948 |title=Aquarium Gets A New Chance By Injunction: Null Says Art Board Must Rule on Razing Plans; Appeal To Be Taken |page=29 |work=New York Herald Tribune|issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1327204511}}}} but the Supreme Court's Appellate Division struck down this injunction in March 1949.{{Cite news |date=March 30, 1949 |title=Moses Wins Plea on Castle Clinton; Court Rules Former Aquarium Is No 'Monument' and May Be Demolished |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1949/03/30/archives/moses-wins-plea-on-castle-clinton-court-rules-former-aquarium-is-no.html |access-date=October 9, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=March 8, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180308120833/https://www.nytimes.com/1949/03/30/archives/moses-wins-plea-on-castle-clinton-court-rules-former-aquarium-is-no.html |url-status=live }}{{cite news |date=March 30, 1949 |title=Aquarium Razing Is Upheld by Court: Appellate Division Decides Against Art Commission |page=18 |work=New York Herald Tribune|issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1326815511}}}}

By early 1949, U.S. president Harry S. Truman had also expressed support for preserving Fort Clinton.{{Cite news |date=February 24, 1949 |title=Fort Clinton as a National Monument Discussed by Truman in Letter to Delano |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1949/02/24/archives/fort-clinton-as-a-national-monument-discussed-by-truman-in-letter.html |access-date=October 9, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=October 9, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221009225952/https://www.nytimes.com/1949/02/24/archives/fort-clinton-as-a-national-monument-discussed-by-truman-in-letter.html |url-status=live }}{{cite news |date=February 24, 1949 |title=Truman Enters Dispute Over Old Aquarium: Letter to Art Commission Head Explains Possibility of Making It a Shrine |page=21 |work=New York Herald Tribune|issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1327138904}}}} The Assembly voted in March 1949 to cede the fort to the federal government,{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1949/03/16/archives/restoration-voted-for-castle-clinton-assembly-committee-clears-bill.html|title=Restoration Voted for Castle Clinton; Assembly Committee Clears Bill Making Possible a U. S. Monument at the Battery|date=March 16, 1949|work=The New York Times|access-date=March 22, 2018|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=March 23, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180323092425/https://www.nytimes.com/1949/03/16/archives/restoration-voted-for-castle-clinton-assembly-committee-clears-bill.html|url-status=live}}{{cite news |last=Bates |first=Edward W. |date=March 23, 1949 |title=Assembly Bars Delay in Ending N.Y, Guard Bias: Amends Senate Bill Holding Up Move Until the Army Adopts Non-Segregation |page=2 |work=New York Herald Tribune|issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1327141748}}}} and the New York State Senate passed an identical bill.{{Cite news |date=March 23, 1949 |title=Fort Clinton Bill Sent to Governor; Measure Allowing City to Cede Site to U. S. For a Monument Is Unopposed in Senate |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1949/03/23/archives/fort-clinton-bill-sent-to-governor-measure-allowing-city-to-cede.html |access-date=October 9, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=March 8, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180308054853/https://www.nytimes.com/1949/03/23/archives/fort-clinton-bill-sent-to-governor-measure-allowing-city-to-cede.html |url-status=live }} New York governor Thomas E. Dewey signed the bill the next month, allowing the city to transfer the fort to the federal government.{{Cite news |date=April 29, 1949 |title=Fort Clinton Bill Signed by Dewey; Restoration in Battery Park Now Up to City, He Says in Recognizing Split on Idea |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1949/04/29/archives/fort-clinton-bill-signed-by-dewey-restoration-in-battery-park-now.html |access-date=October 9, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}} Separately, the New York City Council voted to allow the New York state government to take over Fort Clinton if the federal government did not want to take over ownership.{{cite news |date=March 9, 1949 |title=State Gets Aquarium Site If U. S. Doesn't Want It |page=21 |work=New York Herald Tribune|issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1325751995}}}} The U.S. House voted in October to allocate $165,750 for the fort's restoration ({{Inflation|index=US|value=165750|start_year=1949|r=-3|fmt=eq}}),{{Cite news |date=October 7, 1949 |title=Fort Clinton Restoration Budget Of $165,750 Approved by House |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1949/10/07/archives/fort-clinton-restoration-budget-of-165750-approved-by-house-house.html |access-date=October 9, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=March 5, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180305100249/https://www.nytimes.com/1949/10/07/archives/fort-clinton-restoration-budget-of-165750-approved-by-house-house.html |url-status=live }}{{cite news |date=October 8, 1949 |title=Fort Clinton Bill Passed by Senate: Provides $165,750 Fund to Restore Landmark |page=2 |work=New York Herald Tribune|issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1327374424}}}} allowing the National Park Service (NPS) to start restoring the fort after the federal government gained ownership.{{Cite news |date=October 14, 1949 |title=Work Will Start Soon On Castle Clinton Park |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1949/10/14/archives/work-will-start-soon-on-castle-clinton-park.html |access-date=October 9, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}} The city's mayor William O'Dwyer supported the fort's preservation, but, due to legal technicalities, the city government did not transfer ownership of the fort for several months. On July 18, 1950, the city deeded the land and castle to the federal government.{{Cite news |date=July 19, 1950 |title=Aquarium Becomes a U.S. Monument; Action on Castle Clinton at Battery Taken After City Deeds Site to Government |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1950/07/19/archives/aquarium-becomes-a-us-monument-action-on-castle-clinton-at-battery.html |url-status=live |access-date=March 22, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180323041003/https://www.nytimes.com/1950/07/19/archives/aquarium-becomes-a-us-monument-action-on-castle-clinton-at-battery.html |archive-date=March 23, 2018 |issn=0362-4331}}{{cite news |date=July 19, 1949 |title=Aquarium Building To Be Monument: Nine-Year Controversy Is Ended by U. S. Decision |page=11 |work=New York Herald Tribune|issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1327381298}}}}

The modern-day Castle Clinton is a one-story structure with a radius of {{convert|92|ft}}. The roof above the fort's interior has largely been removed, and there is a nearly circular, open-air parade ground at the center of the fort. It is surrounded by a wall measuring {{convert|8|ft}} thick. The stucco on the facade was removed under the National Park Service's ownership, and the brownstone-and-ashlar exterior walls were restored to their original condition. Underneath the walls is a rough stone foundation. The circumference of the fort contains a portico with wooden columns surrounding a canopy. There is also a gravel courtyard, brick powder magazines, and two subterranean water tanks covered by wooden trapdoors. The SeaGlass Carousel is just southeast of the modern-day fort.{{Cite news |last=Dunlap |first=David W. |date=August 13, 2015 |title=New York's New Carousel Puts You in a Whirling School of Mechanized Fish |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/14/arts/design/new-yorks-new-carousel-puts-you-in-a-whirling-school-of-mechanized-fish.html |access-date=October 10, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=August 14, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150814014343/http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/14/arts/design/new-yorks-new-carousel-puts-you-in-a-whirling-school-of-mechanized-fish.html |url-status=live }}

Since 1986, the fort's interior has housed an information kiosk and ticket booths for the Statue of Liberty National Monument, which comprises the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island; the fort continues to sell tickets for the Statue of Liberty National Monument {{as of|2023|lc=y}}. Statue Cruises, which operates the only ferry line to Liberty Island and Ellis Island, sells ferry tickets inside the fort.{{Cite news |last=Plagianos |first=Irene |date=July 6, 2019 |title=Lady Liberty Sparks Battle of the Boat Tours |language=en-US |work=Wall Street Journal |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/lady-liberty-sparks-battle-of-the-boat-tours-11562414402 |access-date=October 10, 2022 |issn=0099-9660 |archive-date=April 10, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210410233540/https://www.wsj.com/articles/lady-liberty-sparks-battle-of-the-boat-tours-11562414402 |url-status=live }} Admission to Castle Clinton itself is free, and the National Park Service gives guided tours when the monument is open to the public. The fort also contains a small history exhibit and occasionally hosts concerts.{{cite web |date=March 7, 2016 |title=Basic Information |url=https://www.nps.gov/cacl/planyourvisit/basicinfo.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190617135406/https://www.nps.gov/cacl/planyourvisit/basicinfo.htm |archive-date=June 17, 2019 |access-date=June 17, 2019 |website=Castle Clinton National Monument (U.S. National Park Service)}} The nonprofit Battery Conservancy is also housed within Castle Clinton.{{cite web |date=July 7, 2021 |title=About Us |url=https://www.thebattery.org/about-us/ |access-date=October 13, 2022 |website=The Battery}}{{cite web |date=February 6, 1941 |title=Castle Clinton – |url=https://www.nypap.org/preservation-history/castle-clinton/ |access-date=October 13, 2022 |website=NYPAP}} According to the NPS, Castle Clinton typically has over three million visitors a year, making it one of the most visited national monuments in the United States.

File:Castle Clinton 2008 jeh.jpg

The Castle Clinton National Monument was formally dedicated on October 24, 1950.{{Cite news |date=October 25, 1950 |title=World Hails U.N.'s 5Th Birthday; 3,000 Here in Parade to City Hall |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1950/10/25/archives/world-hails-uns-5th-birthday-3000-here-in-parade-to-city-hall-at.html |access-date=October 9, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=October 9, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221009225949/https://www.nytimes.com/1950/10/25/archives/world-hails-uns-5th-birthday-3000-here-in-parade-to-city-hall-at.html |url-status=live }}{{cite news |last=Rogers |first=John G. |date=October 24, 1950 |title=Truman to Talk On Peace at U.N. Session Today: Flushing Meadow Meeting to Lead World Tributes on Charter's Anniversary |page=1 |work=New York Herald Tribune|issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1336751331}}}} Battery Park reopened to the public two years later, although Castle Clinton had not yet been restored at the time.{{Cite news |date=July 17, 1952 |title=Battery Park Restored |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1952/07/17/archives/battery-park-restored.html |url-status=live |access-date=May 10, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190510152237/https://www.nytimes.com/1952/07/17/archives/battery-park-restored.html |archive-date=May 10, 2019 |issn=0362-4331}}{{cite news |date=July 16, 1962 |title=Historic Battery Park Reopens After 12 Yrs.; 8,00 At Ceremony |page=3 |work=New York Herald Tribune|issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1322254213}}}} The NPS announced in early 1952 that it would begin restoring the fort's exterior; the project was expected to cost $117,000 ({{Inflation|index=US|value=117000|start_year=1952|r=-3|fmt=eq}}) and take two years.{{Cite news |date=January 27, 1952 |title=U. S. Speeds Work on Old Aquarium; Restoration as Museum Will Begin Next Month, Parley of Historians Is Told |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1952/01/27/archives/u-s-speeds-work-on-old-aquarium-restoration-as-museum-will-begin.html |access-date=October 9, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=October 9, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221009225953/https://www.nytimes.com/1952/01/27/archives/u-s-speeds-work-on-old-aquarium-restoration-as-museum-will-begin.html |url-status=live }} As part of this project, the NPS reconstructed the fort's original door. Following the partial demolition of Fort Clinton in the 1940s, only the exterior wall remained intact. The interior of the fort was so dilapidated that, according to The New York Times, "not even grass grew in the desolate, cratered parade ground".

In 1954, the New York City Council passed a resolution asking Congress to establish a committee to provide suggestions for restoring Castle Clinton, the Federal Hall National Memorial, and the Statue of Liberty National Monument.{{Cite news |date=February 24, 1954 |title=Education Sparks City Council Fight; Isaacs' Mild Resolution on State Aid Hit as 'Typical Republican Insult' |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1954/02/24/archives/education-sparks-city-council-fight-isaacs-mild-resolution-on-state.html |access-date=October 9, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}} The next year, the federal government created the New York City National Shrines Advisory Board.{{Cite news |date=August 13, 1955 |title=Monuments Get Help; Eisenhower Signs Bill Urging Support for Historic Sites |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1955/08/13/archives/monuments-get-help-eisenhower-signs-bill-urging-support-for.html |url-status=live |access-date=May 4, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220504180951/https://www.nytimes.com/1955/08/13/archives/monuments-get-help-eisenhower-signs-bill-urging-support-for.html |archive-date=May 4, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}}{{cite news |date=August 29, 1955 |title=Board Aims to Preserve 3 Historic Sites in City |page=7 |work=New York Herald Tribune|id={{ProQuest|1328082846}}}} The board first convened in February 1956,{{cite news |date=February 4, 1956 |title=Museum Projects Urged To Save 3 Shrines Here |page=A10 |work=New York Herald Tribune|id={{ProQuest|1327597493}}}}{{Cite news |date=February 4, 1956 |title=Board Considers Historic Shrines; Advisory Group to Seek Aid of Public in Preserving Three in This City |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1956/02/04/archives/board-considers-historic-shrines-advisory-group-to-seek-aid-of.html |url-status=live |access-date=May 4, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220504180952/https://www.nytimes.com/1956/02/04/archives/board-considers-historic-shrines-advisory-group-to-seek-aid-of.html |archive-date=May 4, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}} and the federal government allocated $498,500 that July for a renovation of Castle Clinton ({{Inflation|index=US|value=498500|start_year=1956|r=-3|fmt=eq}}).{{Cite news |last=Bennett |first=Charles G. Jr. |date=July 3, 1956 |title=Old Battery Fort Will Be Restored; Through the Centuries With Castle Clinton, Whose Future Is Bright Once More |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1956/07/03/archives/old-battery-fort-will-be-restored-through-the-centuries-with-castle.html |access-date=May 15, 2019 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=February 5, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180205114459/http://www.nytimes.com/1956/07/03/archives/old-battery-fort-will-be-restored-through-the-centuries-with-castle.html |url-status=live }} In February 1957, the board recommended allocating $3 million for the restoration of the three sites.{{Cite news |date=February 1, 1957 |title=$3,089,400 Outlay on Shrines Asked; City Board to Submit to U. S. Cost of Restoring 3—Drive to Raise Half Planned |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1957/02/01/archives/3089400-outlay-on-shrines-asked-city-board-to-submit-to-u-s-cost-of.html |url-status=live |access-date=May 4, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220504180950/https://www.nytimes.com/1957/02/01/archives/3089400-outlay-on-shrines-asked-city-board-to-submit-to-u-s-cost-of.html |archive-date=May 4, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}} The United States Department of the Interior subsequently postponed the repair project to 1966. This led architect Frederick G. Frost Jr. to propose in 1958 that the fort be renovated for use as a maritime museum and a restaurant. In 1962, New York City parks commissioner Newbold Morris proposed relocating 18 columns from the soon-to-be-demolished Pennsylvania Station to a promenade outside Castle Clinton.{{Cite news |date=September 10, 1962 |title=Morris Approves Plan to Move Penn Station Columns to Battery |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1962/09/10/archives/morris-approves-plan-to-move-penn-station-columns-to-battery.html |access-date=October 9, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}}{{cite news |date=September 10, 1962 |title=Transfer of 18 Penn Station Columns Asked |page=A10 |work=The Washington Post, Times Herald |issn=0190-8286 |id={{ProQuest|141752067}}}} This never happened, and the columns were instead dumped in a landfill in New Jersey.{{cite web |date=October 9, 1964 |title=Penn Station Columns Dumped in Jersey; Doric Splendor Has an Ignoble Ending in the Meadows |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1964/10/09/archives/penn-station-columns-dumped-in-jersey-doric-splendor-has-an-ignoble.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612232010/https://www.nytimes.com/1964/10/09/archives/penn-station-columns-dumped-in-jersey-doric-splendor-has-an-ignoble.html |archive-date=June 12, 2018 |access-date=June 12, 2018 |website=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331}}

Castle Clinton was one of the earliest buildings that the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) considered protecting as a New York City landmark.{{Cite news |last=Hanson |first=Kitty |date=October 18, 1965 |title=Help! Landmarks Group Issues Civic SOC |pages=257 |work=New York Daily News |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/111208045/help-landmarks-group-issues-civic/ |access-date=October 13, 2022}} The LPC designated the fort as a city landmark in November 1965,{{Cite news |date=December 2, 1965 |title=Brooklyn Heights Now a Landmark |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1965/12/02/archives/brooklyn-heights-now-a-landmark.html |access-date=October 13, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}} seven months after the city's landmarks law was signed.{{cite web |title=New York City Landmarks Law |url=http://www.nypap.org/preservation-history/new-york-city-landmarks-law/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200421004352/http://www.nypap.org/preservation-history/new-york-city-landmarks-law/ |archive-date=April 21, 2020 |access-date=April 14, 2020 |publisher=The New York Preservation Archive Project}} Subsequently, Castle Clinton was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 15, 1966,{{cite web |date=February 6, 1979 |title=Federal Register: 44 Fed. Reg. 7107 (Feb. 6, 1979) |url=http://cdn.loc.gov/service/ll/fedreg/fr044/fr044026/fr044026.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161230122005/http://cdn.loc.gov/service/ll/fedreg/fr044/fr044026/fr044026.pdf |archive-date=December 30, 2016 |access-date=March 8, 2020 |publisher=Library of Congress |page=7539}} the day the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 went into effect.{{cite book | author=United States. National Park Service | author2=Preservation Press | title=The National Register of Historic Places | publisher=National Park Service. | year=1991 | isbn=978-0-942063-21-9 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=u3p1AAAAMAAJ&pg=PR9 | page=9}}

A restoration of Castle Clinton commenced in August 1968. The work included restoring the exterior and interior walls; adding a shingle roof; removing a moat and other facilities related to the fort's use as an aquarium; and repairing officers' quarters, parade ground, and ammunition storage areas.{{Cite news |date=August 24, 1968 |title=A Fort of Unfired Cannons Being Rebuilt Here by U.S. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1968/08/24/archives/a-fort-of-unfired-cannons-being-rebuilt-here-by-us.html |access-date=October 9, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}}{{Cite news |date=September 19, 1968 |title=Historic Fort Still Serving |pages=27 |work=The Journal News |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/111012148/historic-fort-still-serving/ |access-date=October 9, 2022}} This renovation was supposed to last one year. The federal government postponed funding for further restoration because of the Vietnam War.{{Cite news |last=Zakariasen |first=Bill |date=June 19, 1975 |title=The Sound Castle |pages=235 |work=New York Daily News |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/111013424/the-sound-castlebill-zakariasen/ |access-date=October 9, 2022 |archive-date=October 9, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221009225949/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/111013424/the-sound-castlebill-zakariasen/ |url-status=live }} The NPS commenced a wider-ranging restoration project {{Circa}} 1972, which cost about $750,000 ({{Inflation|index=US|value=750000|start_year=1972|r=-3|fmt=eq}}). As part of this project, the officers' quarters were restored, and an exhibit was placed inside a former powder magazine. Preservationists were advocating for Castle Clinton to be used as a performing-arts center by late 1972.{{Cite news |date=November 21, 1972 |title=Wider Use Urged for Historic Sites |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1972/11/21/archives/wider-use-urged-for-historic-sites-environmentalists-here-bid-us.html |access-date=October 9, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=October 9, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221009225955/https://www.nytimes.com/1972/11/21/archives/wider-use-urged-for-historic-sites-environmentalists-here-bid-us.html |url-status=live }} The following June, the fort hosted its first concert since the 1850s, a performance commemorating Jenny Lind.{{Cite news |date=June 27, 1973 |title=Going Out Guide |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1973/06/27/archives/going-out-guide.html |access-date=October 9, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}} Castle Clinton reopened on May 25, 1975, with a performance of Beethoven's 9th by the American Symphony Orchestra.{{Cite news |date=May 26, 1975 |title=American Symphony at Castle Clinton |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1975/05/26/archives/american-symphony-at-castle-clinton.html |access-date=October 9, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=October 9, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221009225953/https://www.nytimes.com/1975/05/26/archives/american-symphony-at-castle-clinton.html |url-status=live }} City and federal officials rededicated the monument the next month.{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1975/06/21/archives/castle-clinton-reopens-as-national-monument.html |title=Castle Clinton Reopens As National Monument |date=June 21, 1975 |work=The New York Times |access-date=May 15, 2019 |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=April 10, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220410002853/https://www.nytimes.com/1975/06/21/archives/castle-clinton-reopens-as-national-monument.html |url-status=live }}

File:Castle Clinton.JPG (3391269973).jpg

When it reopened, Castle Clinton hosted concerts for the public during summer weekends, and it also hosted exhibits and guided tours.{{Cite news |last=Kleiman |first=Dena |date=August 19, 1977 |title=Metropolitan Baedeker |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1977/08/19/archives/new-jersey-weekly-metropolitan-baedeker-quiet-days-at-the-battery.html |access-date=October 9, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=February 20, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200220145429/https://www.nytimes.com/1977/08/19/archives/new-jersey-weekly-metropolitan-baedeker-quiet-days-at-the-battery.html |url-status=live }} The fort contained dioramas depicting Manhattan at various points in the 19th and 20th centuries.{{cite news |last=Shepard |first=Richard F. |date=May 19, 1989 |title=A Guided Ramble Around the Landfill: Exploring Battery Park City: A Guided Ramble |page=C1 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |id={{ProQuest|110319579}}}} In 1979, the NPS and the Manhattan Cultural Council commissioned four sculptures, which were installed within Castle Clinton's central courtyard.{{Cite news |date=August 25, 1979 |title=New Sculpture at Fort Clinton Blends With the Shape of Its Surroundings |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1979/08/25/archives/new-sculpture-at-fort-clinton-blends-with-the-shape-of-its.html |access-date=October 9, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=October 12, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221012004232/https://www.nytimes.com/1979/08/25/archives/new-sculpture-at-fort-clinton-blends-with-the-shape-of-its.html |url-status=live }} Following a series of thefts and break-ins at Castle Clinton in the early 1980s, the NPS stationed several armed guards outside the fort.{{Cite news |last=Basler |first=Barbara |date=October 21, 1982 |title=U.S. Historic Sites in City Guarding Against Thefts |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1982/10/21/nyregion/us-historic-sites-in-city-guarding-against-thefts.html |access-date=October 9, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=October 11, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221011154948/https://www.nytimes.com/1982/10/21/nyregion/us-historic-sites-in-city-guarding-against-thefts.html |url-status=live }} In the decade after it was rededicated, the fort was open nine months a year, operating five days per week. NPS officials estimated that the fort had no more than 100,000 annual visitors.{{Cite news |last=Dunlap |first=David W. |date=March 18, 1986 |title=A Quiet Old Fort Facing Bustle of Ferry Crowds |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/03/18/nyregion/a-quiet-old-fort-facing-bustle-of-ferry-crowds.html |access-date=October 10, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=May 24, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150524191643/http://www.nytimes.com/1986/03/18/nyregion/a-quiet-old-fort-facing-bustle-of-ferry-crowds.html |url-status=live }}

The NPS closed Castle Clinton for renovations in December 1985. It announced plans to install two ticket booths and a waiting area for ferries to the Statue of Liberty National Monument. The NPS planned to spend $1.5 million to replace two structures, add exhibitions, restore the roof and parade ground, and reconstruct a doorway that had been sealed in 1974. The fort was to operate every day of the week, year-round, though the NPS subsequently decided to close all national monuments in Manhattan on Sundays.{{Cite news|last=Boorstin|first=Robert O.|date=April 6, 1986|title=Budget Law Imposing Cuts at National Parks|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/04/06/nyregion/budget-law-imposing-cuts-at-national-parks.html|access-date=October 10, 2022|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=February 3, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180203064358/http://www.nytimes.com/1986/04/06/nyregion/budget-law-imposing-cuts-at-national-parks.html|url-status=live}} The NPS expected that the fort would attract up to five million visitors a year.{{Cite news |last=Birnbaum |first=Steven |date=July 6, 1986 |title='Castle' Rich in History |pages=48 |work=Asbury Park Press |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/111057006/castle-rich-in-historysteven-birnbaum/ |access-date=October 10, 2022 |archive-date=October 12, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221012004221/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/111057006/castle-rich-in-historysteven-birnbaum/ |url-status=live }} A ferry pier was also installed behind Castle Clinton.{{Cite news |last=Connelly |first=Sheryl |date=June 29, 1986 |title='But Why Can't We Climb to the Top?' |pages=309 |work=New York Daily News |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/111056152/but-why-cant-we-climb-to-the/ |access-date=October 10, 2022}}{{cite news |last=Strauch |first=Barbara |date=July 6, 1986 |title=Miss Liberty's Open House |page=3 |work=Newsday |id={{ProQuest|1645388927}}}} The fort reopened the weekend of July 4, 1986, as a visitor center and ticket office for the Statue of Liberty National Monument. Castle Clinton also began selling ferry tickets to Ellis Island in 1990, when that island's main building was converted into a museum.{{Cite news |last=Golden |first=Tim |date=September 10, 1990 |title=Ellis Island Doors Reopening, This Time as Haven to Tourists |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/09/10/nyregion/ellis-island-doors-reopening-this-time-as-haven-to-tourists.html |access-date=June 8, 2019 |archive-date=June 8, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190608222343/https://www.nytimes.com/1990/09/10/nyregion/ellis-island-doors-reopening-this-time-as-haven-to-tourists.html |url-status=live }}{{cite news |last=Hosmer |first=Philip |date=September 9, 1990 |title=Ellis Island, 1892–1900 |pages=21, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/32514544/ 25] |work=The Courier-News |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/32514428/ |access-date=October 7, 2022|archive-date=October 12, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221012004215/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/32514428/ellis-island-1892-1900/ |url-status=live }}

By 1996, the Conservancy for Historic Battery Park was raising $350,000 ({{Inflation|index=US|value=350000|start_year=1996|r=-3|fmt=eq}}) for a seasonal tensile structure, to be placed above the fort between April and October of each year. The conservancy wished to raise another $25 million to $30 million and convert Castle Clinton into an educational and cultural center.{{Cite news |date=June 2, 1996 |title=Postings: Concert to Mark Start of $5.5 Million Restoration;Recharging Battery Park's Seawall and Promenade |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/06/02/realestate/postings-concert-mark-start-5.5-million-restoration-recharging-battery-park-s.html |access-date=October 10, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=January 29, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180129070703/http://www.nytimes.com/1996/06/02/realestate/postings-concert-mark-start-5.5-million-restoration-recharging-battery-park-s.html |url-status=live }} This was part of a $5.5 million renovation of the adjacent waterfront promenade within Battery Park, which was completed in November 2001, although the tensile structure was not installed.{{Cite news |last=Stewart |first=Barbara |date=December 9, 2001 |title=The Battery Is Up, For Once, With a Remade Park |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/12/09/nyregion/the-battery-is-up-for-once-with-a-remade-park.html |url-status=live |access-date=May 14, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190514223250/https://www.nytimes.com/2001/12/09/nyregion/the-battery-is-up-for-once-with-a-remade-park.html |archive-date=May 14, 2019 |issn=0362-4331}} The Battery Park Conservancy had selected Thomas Phifer in 2001 to redesign Castle Clinton as a performing-arts center,{{cite web |date=April 1, 2013 |title=Battery Park's Coming Attractions |url=http://tribecatrib.com/content/battery-parks-coming-attractions |access-date=October 10, 2022 |website=Tribeca Trib Online |archive-date=January 28, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220128062325/http://tribecatrib.com/content/battery-parks-coming-attractions |url-status=live }} but the redesign was stalled for several years.{{Cite news |last=Raver |first=Anne |date=January 16, 2003 |title=Nature; Replanting Nieuw Amsterdam |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/01/16/garden/nature-replanting-nieuw-amsterdam.html |access-date=October 10, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=December 26, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171226113535/http://www.nytimes.com/2003/01/16/garden/nature-replanting-nieuw-amsterdam.html |url-status=live }}

The National Guard occupied Castle Clinton for six weeks after the September 11 attacks in 2001. Castle Clinton reopened to the public on October 22, 2001, though the ferries to the Statue of Liberty National Monument were not operating at the time.{{Cite news |date=October 22, 2001 |title=Metro Briefing | New York: Manhattan: Castle Clinton To Reopen |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/10/22/nyregion/metro-briefing-new-york-manhattan-castle-clinton-to-reopen.html |access-date=October 10, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=May 27, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150527172718/http://www.nytimes.com/2001/10/22/nyregion/metro-briefing-new-york-manhattan-castle-clinton-to-reopen.html |url-status=live }} That December, the NPS erected a tent with seven body scanners at Castle Clinton, where visitors to the Statue of Liberty National Monument underwent a security screening. The facility could not handle large crowds, often resulting in waits of more than one hour.{{cite magazine |last=Fickenscher |first=Lisa |date=February 25, 2013 |title=Ellis Island Regains Its Status as a Gateway for Millions |magazine=Crain's New York Business |volume=29 |issue=8 |page=4 |id={{ProQuest|1314817234}}}} The NPS considered relocating the security-screening facilities to the nearby City Pier A in 2003 but decided against it.{{cite magazine |last=Eisenpress |first=Cara |date=June 21, 2021 |title=Future of Historic Pier a Is Up for Grabs: Newly Renovated Space Could Go From a Dockside Watering Hole to a Federal Screening Area |magazine=Crain's New York Business |volume=37 |issue=24 |page=4 |id={{ProQuest|2544525890}}}} Although the security tent in front of Castle Clinton had been intended as a temporary measure, it remained in place for more than a decade. The security screening facilities were supposed to have been relocated to Ellis Island in 2013;{{cite web |last=Plagianos |first=Irene |date=February 25, 2013 |title=Battery Park Security Tents Moving to Ellis Island in March, Report Says |url=https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20130225/battery-park-city/battery-park-security-tents-moving-ellis-island-march-report-says |access-date=October 10, 2022 |website=DNAinfo New York |archive-date=December 12, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171212152216/https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20130225/battery-park-city/battery-park-security-tents-moving-ellis-island-march-report-says |url-status=dead }} {{as of|2024|lc=y}}, the screening facilities were located southeast of Castle Clinton.{{cite press release | title=National Park Service to relocate New York ferry embarkation and security screening facility in The Battery | website=National Park Service | date=February 7, 2024 | url=https://www.nps.gov/stli/learn/news/national-park-service-to-relocate-new-york-ferry-embarkation-and-security-screening-facility-in-the-battery.htm | access-date=April 26, 2024}}

During excavations for the nearby South Ferry station in late 2005, builders found the remains of a stone wall dating from the late 17th or 18th centuries.{{Cite news |last=McGeehan |first=Patrick |date=December 8, 2005 |title=Found: Old Wall in New York, And It's Blocking the Subway |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/08/nyregion/found-old-wall-in-new-york-and-its-blocking-the-subway.html |access-date=May 14, 2019 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=May 14, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190514182105/https://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/08/nyregion/found-old-wall-in-new-york-and-its-blocking-the-subway.html |url-status=live }} Workers subsequently found another wall under the site,{{Cite news |last=McGeehan |first=Patrick |date=January 23, 2006 |title=Digging for a Subway, But Hitting a Wall, Again |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/23/nyregion/digging-for-a-subway-but-hitting-a-wall-again.html |access-date=October 10, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=January 26, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210126204113/https://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/23/nyregion/digging-for-a-subway-but-hitting-a-wall-again.html |url-status=live }} and the NPS exhibited part of one of the walls inside Castle Clinton.{{cite web |last=Haddon |first=Heather |date=February 24, 2010 |title=Unearthing Colonial New York: South Ferry Project Yields 65K Artifacts |url=https://www.newsday.com/news/new-york/unearthing-colonial-new-york-south-ferry-project-yields-65k-artifacts-1.1779218 |access-date=February 18, 2018 |website=Newsday |archive-date=February 19, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180219090629/https://www.newsday.com/news/new-york/unearthing-colonial-new-york-south-ferry-project-yields-65k-artifacts-1.1779218 |url-status=live }}{{Cite news |last=McGeehan |first=Patrick |date=June 7, 2006 |title=Part of Early N.Y. Wall Displayed in Battery Park |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/07/nyregion/08wallscnd.html |access-date=October 10, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=April 10, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150410194618/http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/07/nyregion/08wallscnd.html |url-status=live }} {{As of|2023}}, Castle Clinton remains a visitor center and ticket office for the Statue of Liberty National Monument.

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{{portal|Architecture|New York City|NRHP}}

• List of national monuments of the United States
• List of New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan below 14th Street
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Manhattan below 14th Street

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{{Notelist}}

{{reflist}}

• {{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gMxQrkQTLHYC&pg=PA12 |title=Strong on Music: The New York Music Scene in the Days of George Templeton |last1=Brodsky Lawrence |first1=Vera |publisher=University of Chicago Press |year=1995 |isbn=9780226470115}}
• {{cite report |url=https://npgallery.nps.gov/GetAsset/7a1ad2da-00db-4a17-b98b-04f818213bb2 |title=Castle Clinton |date=October 15, 1966 |publisher=National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service |ref={{harvid|National Park Service|1966}}}}
• {{cite book|last=Gilder|first=Rodman|title=The Battery: the story of the adventurers, artists, statesmen, grafters, songsters, mariners, pirates, guzzlers, Indians, thieves, stuffed-shirts, turn-coats, millionaires, inventors, poets, heroes, soldiers, harlots, bootlicks, nobles, nonentities, burghers, martyrs, and murderers who played their parts during full four centuries on Manhattan Island's tip|publisher=Houghton Mifflin|year=1936|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0n8MAAAAYAAJ}}
• {{cite enc-nyc2}}
• {{cite book | last=Martin | first=George Whitney | title=Verdi in America: Oberto Through Rigoletto | publisher=University of Rochester Press | series=Eastman studies in music | year=2011 | isbn=978-1-58046-388-1 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vEYA8_RARL0C&pg=PA81 }}
• {{cite web|url=https://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/elis/cacl_hsr_1.pdf|title=Historic Structures Report, Part I, Castle Clinton|publisher=National Park Service|date=May 10, 1960|ref={{harvid|National Park Service|1960}}}}
• {{cite book|url=http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/elis/castle_garden.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070702122928/http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/elis/castle_garden.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 2, 2007 |title=Castle Garden as an Immigrant Depot, 1855–1890|first=George J.|last=Svejda|year=1968}}

• {{cite book | last=Moreno | first=Barry | title=Castle Garden and Battery Park | publisher=Arcadia Publishing Incorporated | series=Images of America | year=2007 | isbn=978-1-4396-1855-4 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zA32zizF1aQC|ref=none}}
• {{cite book | author=New York Aquarium |author-link=New York Aquarium | last2=Townsend | first2=Charles H. |author-link2=Charles Haskins Townsend | title=Guide to the New York Aquarium | publisher=New York Zoological Society | year=1919 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Q_YsAAAAYAAJ|ref=none}}

{{Spoken Wikipedia|Wikipedia_Audio_-_Castle Clinton.wav|date=October 29, 2018}}

• {{Commons category-inline|Castle Clinton National Monument}}
• {{URL|https://www.nps.gov/cacl/index.htm|Official website}}
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20100427073908/http://www.gorp.com/parks-guide/travel-ta-castle-clinton-national-monument-new-york-city-sidwcmdev_068113.html Castle Clinton from GORP]
• [http://www.thebattery.org/ The Battery Conservancy]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20200114051942/http://www.castlegarden.org/ CastleGarden.org], searchable database of 13.3 million immigrants arriving in New York before 1892 (90% complete)

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