Those going to the Statue of Liberty from Manhattan leave from Battery Park, but Battery Park itself is home to another national park site, Castle Clinton National Monument. Castle Clinton was preceded by a fort built on the tip of Manhattan Island to protect the new city. Later, Castle Clinton was built to replace the older fort. It originally stood in New York Harbor, attached to the island by a thin strip of land, but the city later filled in the areas around the fort, incorporating it into the island. After the fort was de-commissioned, it served as the landing spot for immigrants coming to the United States until Ellis Island opened. Afterward, Castle Clinton became a popular entertainment center, eventually becoming an aquarium. It would eventually close, and the old fort became a national monument, undergoing restoration in the 1970s.

Today, most visitors who go to Castle Clinton are going to the Statue of Liberty. The ticket booths are located inside Castle Clinton, and one can often find lines running in and around the fort as people wait to purchase their tickets. Yet, Castle Clinton is an interesting attraction in its own right and worth visiting to learn about the history of New York long before it became such a burgeoning metropolis. Visitors are able to walk around the interior of the fort, which is built to look as it did when it functioned as a fort. There is a small museum that outlines the history of the fort, which lends context to your visit.

A visit to Castle Clinton won’t take more than an hour, probably less, but a visit will also help you learn a bit about the early history of New York and the United States.