A Trek to Governors Island

Saturday August 21, 2010 – Kokyat and I went over to Governors Island today. The very brief boat ride (it leaves from South Ferry, right next to the Staten Island ferry pier) barely takes five minutes. You step off into a crowd of bicyclists, strollered infants and somewhat dazed tourists all of whom have come over from the bigger island of Manhattan. Although there are many buildings (including a hospital and 3 churches), private homes and apartment units on Governors Island, no one lives there.

The Dutch lost New Amsterdam to the British who re-named it New York and then lost control of it during the Revolutionary War. It remained an army post, served as a prison for captured Confederate soldiers during the Civil War, and in 1966 became a Coast Guard station until 1995 when the Coast Guard closed the facility and all personnel were evacuated and re-assigned.

Buildings from various periods (some dating back to the 17th century) cover the northern end of the  island and for the most part all stand empty save for a few used by the Parks Department, a small Children’s Museum and a gift shop. It seems a colossal waste of living space but the deed transferring ownership from the Coast Guard to the City prohibits permanent housing or the establishment of casinos on Governors Island.

So it is rather like wandering around a ghost town; we peered into windows of the most recent structures (utilitarian apartment buildings) to see electric stoves and baseboard heating. A beautiful street lined with yellow houses (above) stand empty.

Kokyat and I thought we’d love to live in this little cottage.

St. Cornelius Chapel was our favorite place on the island. In the darkly shadowed interior the pews have been ripped out and the baptismal font sealed closed. Yet one could almost imagine the sound of a choir singing or a bride arriving in the vestibule for a military wedding.

There is a carillon…I wonder when it last sounded?

Lovely stained glass…

 

The angel Gabriel looks pensive.

There seems to be an accommodation for the Jewish population but no sign of a mosque, which I suppose is just as well given that 127% of New Yorkers are opposed to a mosque (and to everything else) at this point.

Flowers thrive on Governors Island…

…and there is a beautiful, stately row of London plane trees.

From time to time one comes upon plaques marking various aspects of the island’s history.

There are also some rather nice pieces of sculpture: above, Matador’s Cape by David Curt Morris…

…Quixotic Aquatic Erotica by Robert Michael Smith…

…and Commando by Mary Ellen Scherl which we especially liked.

Another view of Commando.

The hospital…

…and the Governor’s house…

…with its descriptive plaque.

A few modern touches crop up here and there…

..and there are places to buy food and beverages (alcohol is prohibited: they search your bags before boarding the ferry to be sure you aren’t packing a six-pack),

We did like these red benches which appear throughout the park.

The oldest aspects of the island were the most pleasing, and much of the time I was imagining the people who might have been quartered in the barracks, lived in the yellow houses and sang hymns in the old church.

After a nice outdoor lunch in a breezy spot by the water, we returned to Manhattan.