Fort Totten Battery
Address:
Fort Totten Park
212th St and Bell Blvd
Bayside, Queens
718-352-4793
Category: Harbor Defenses
Open to the public.
Built: 1858
Owner: NYC Parks & Recreation
Designation: Landmark ACOE Officer's Club
Description: The granite battery was originally called the Fort at Willet’s Point. Arched openings, circular staircases, tunnels and magazine openings were constructed during the Civil War but never completed. Totten sits on a promontory extending into Little Neck Bay guarding the “back door” to New York Harbor with Fort Schuyler.
The Nike missile defense system was developed here. The 136-acre historic Army base served as a school for the Army Corps of Engineers and a staging facility for various commands until the Gulf War. The landmark 1870 Officer’s Club building is the insignia of Army Corp of Engineers.
