Battery Park, New York City

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As the main starting point to Liberty Island, this park acts as a large meeting point, with several hundred people lining to the boats, and artists and sellers using the people's availability to make their business.

There are some historic buildings around, but most people don't even look, rushing to the boat's lines.

Only those returning to the park have a careful look afterwards.

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At the southern tip of Manhattan is a small park offering views of the harbor and an old fort that is now the visitors center, called Castle Clinton. This fort was built to prepare for the War of 1812. At 25 acres, Battery Park is the largest public space downtown. It has a number of fountains, statues, and war memorials.

Warrie Price founded the Battery Conservancy was established in 1994 to restore this beautiful public space. The points of contact are for this non-profit group, which has raised millions to improve the park.

Everywhere looks better when it is a beautiful sunny day but this park is a nice place to take some time out from the rush of the city. There is a much slower pace here and would be a good spot to take a coffee or a picnic and just chill out on a bench for a while doing a spot of people watching.
There are monuments etc and other things to see in the park but its USP is definately the wonderful views, particularly across to the Statue of Liberty.
I would recommend taking some time out to just chill out on a bench and soak up the atmosphere. Again this is a place with a good mixture of tourists and locals alike.

Also it is FREE - its not often you hear that these days!

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"The Sphere" is an iconic sculpture created by artist Fritz Koenig in 1971, which resided in the plaza between the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City. The sculpture suffered damage during the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and was recovered from the World Trade Center site. It has been temporarily relocated to Battery Park.

On the first anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, an eternal flame was lit by Mayor Michael Bloomberg. The plaque beside The Sphere reads:

"For three decades, this sculpture stood in the plaza of the World Trade Center. Entitled "The Sphere", it was conceived by artist Fritz Koenig as a symbol of world peace. It was damaged during the tragic events of September 11, 2001, but endures as an icon of hope and the indestructible spirit of this country. The Sphere was placed here on March 11, 2002 as a temporary memorial to all who lost their lives in the terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center. This eternal flame was ignited on September 11, 2002 in honor of all those that were lost. Their spirit and sacrifice will never be forgotten."

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One of the best things that you may enjoy in the Battery Park is the Gardens, especially when you visit at the spring season, the flowers are blooming around, and the different colors of tulips are very attractive.

The Garden of Remembrance is the famous Gardens in the park designed by Dutch gardener Piet Oudolf and planted on May 8th, 2003 with different native plants, grass and flowers. These gardens are compliment for the survivors of 9’11, facing on the waterfront, with the row of benches which all the visitors should be seated relax with the view of Hudson River.

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A friend of us was staying at one of the high rise apartments here on Battery Park so I had the chance to be jealous of this nice park that spreads along the lower shore of Manhattan. The people that live here are very lucky because they can go cycling, jogging, walking along the smooth paths of the park, take your children to the numerous playgrounds and above all have a beautiful view next to the Hudson river and with the statue of Liberty at the background.

We walked along the 30acre waterfront (pic 1), we stopped at some of the fences along the way, there are some nice squares (pic 2) but also many sculptures like this one (pic 3) showing huge music instruments. As expected there are also memorials and monuments (pic 4) but I loved the statues that you can see on pic 5, check it yourself and tell me, isn’t it a smart one?

At the south end of the Battery Park you can take the ferry to Staten Island (see next tip)

Battery Park is at the southern tip of Manhatten Island and has several monuments in it, including what is left of the World Trade Center, see photo. It is a sphere that was supposed to stand for world peace. Yeah right...
It almost made me cry to see it, since during the previous visit to NYC I was standing on top of one of those buildings. I think this is the reason I have not made a VT page until now, even though I have been to NYC several times. I am still debating if I should put an old photo on here or not....

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After coming back from the Staten Island ferry, I walked up to Battery Park to rest my feet for a little while. This is a big park with lots to see and do, surrounded by some nice buildings, sort of like an oasis in a desert of glass, cement and steel.

Here I found 4 Statue of Liberty impersonators, lots of monuments to admire, a hot dog cart, a squirrel and overall a nice place to watch people go about their business. I especially liked the pier house and the American Merchant Mariners' memorial. In front of the memorial there's a plaque that says (some of the text will be quoted) "Dedicated to all merchant mariners who have served America from the Revolutionary War the present day."

The Icon of Hope: this damaged sphere was an sculpture called "The Sphere" by Frietz Koenig and used to be at the WTC. The sculpture was found among the rubble and then moved here, and an eternal flame was added, to remember all those who died on that disaster.

The Korean war memorial: unfortunately my knowledge of the Korean war is very limited, but this is a memorial for us to either learn or remember those who died in the war between North Korea, China and the former Soviet Union. The monument is in the middle of a circle, and the circle contains the # of casualties per country, the same countries that are represented by flags below the soldier.

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I may have been to Battery Park when I was a child but I do not remember it. When we decided that the trip to take with my grandson to see Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty, we boarded a commuter train from Princeton to NYC. After we were half way there, we realized that we had no maps for NYC, nor any of the printouts that my sister had made last night.

So she called my BIL who works in NYC, and he told her to take the #1 subway to Battery Park and get the boat to the Statue of Liberty from there. So we did that. My sister bought a 10 ride ticket for herself, and I got a single trip ($2.00 each) for my grandson and myself, and after many inquiries, we found the right train and the right track and counting to be sure that we were in the first five cars, we got on. (Because at Battery Park, only people in the first five cars can exit, and there is no walking between cars on the subway)

Battery Park is 25-acres at the Battery (a former fort), the southern tip of Manhattan Island in New York City, facing New York Harbor. We only saw a little of it. We walked past this playground (which I see no mention of in the on-line literature) and the WWII memorial eagle (photo 2) and I sat down to rest along the waterfront where ferries depart for the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. There is also a stop on the New York Water Taxi route between the Statue of Liberty Ferry and Pier A. My sister went into Fort Clinton to get the tickets. (Even though both of us were sleep deprived, she's still faster on her feet than I am - being younger and thinner - photo 4 shows her with my grandson).

When we got back, we walked through Castle Clinton (photo 5) and saw the statue of John Ericsson in Battery Park, holding a model of USS Monitor in his hand (photo 3)

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This park is located near the Financial District. Battery Park is an important historical site. It is build in the 18th century. Signs on lampposts indicate the moments and happenings in the past. The name of the park is referring to canons that were used to stand in State Street. This street indicates nowadays the border of the park, but it used to mark the coast line of Manhattan. The Castle Clinton National Monument, where you can buy tickets for the ferries to the Statue of Liberty, was finished in 1811. The Sphere, a statue that got damaged during the attack on the World Trade Center towers, is located at the east side of the park.