Abstract
This thesis addresses the historic landscape of the Battery Weed headland, a part of Fort Wadsworth on Staten Island, New York. Research was funded by the National Park Service to support its management of the cultural landscape in anticipation of planned improvements.
The 47-acre headland gained significance in its military use defending the entrance to New York Harbor between 1847 and 1945. The site was critical to harbor defenses and navigation, and attracted many visitors because of its panoramic views. Throughout its history, Battery Weed and its surrounding headland were adapted in response to changes in America’s harbor defenses. After World War II, the headland was largely abandoned and overshadowed by the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge completed in 1964. The site was transferred along with the rest of Fort Wadsworth to the Department of the Interior in 1994 as part of the Staten Island Unit of Gateway National Recreation Area. Since this time, the park has restored the abandoned fort, but has had little documentation necessary for management of the adjoining landscape that includes remnants of post-Civil War batteries and an early twentieth-century mining system.
The thesis documents the physical history the landscape in the context of its intertwined military and recreational uses. This research formed the basis for defining the landscape’s historic character and identifying the landscape features worthy of preservation. From this analysis and evaluation, the thesis defines a treatment approach to preserve and enhance the historic character of the landscape in the context of contemporary park uses and environmental constraints. Treatment recommendations in the thesis included clearing of vegetation to reestablish views and open spatial character, and interpretation and stabilization of remnant military structures.
This thesis is also available at SUNY ESF’s Moon Library – Thesis Call Number G585
The project was finalized by the Department of Landscape Architecture into a published National Park Service Cultural Landscape Report.