Today, I finally got on the ferry and went out to Governors Island.For you non-New Yorkers, Governors Island is an island located justsouth of Manhattan and was once used as a military base. An entirecomplex of buildings, including forts, churches, and army barracks,still remains in excellent condition on the island. Off limits foryears, the island has recently been opened up to the public, with freeferries from Manhattan and Brooklyn. I can't recommend it enough:wander the grounds, have a picnic, bike the perimeter, and take in somebeautiful views of southern Manhattan.
Thoughthere's a lot to write about, I wanted to focus on something that wassimply too amazing to believe: an archaeological dig currently in theprocess of unearthing an entire town buried beneath Governors Island.
Since January, Belgian archaeologistshave been working strenuously to excavate the ruins of a formerGovernors Island hamlet called Goverthing (a bastardization of a Dutchword). With a 400 year history dating back to Manhattan's firstsettlements, the hamlet was the last civilian colony on GovernorsIsland by the 1950's. In 1954, the town was forcibly evacuated by thecity of New York, who had deemed it a safety hazard for a variety ofreasons, and effectively had it condemned. As demolition was not anoption at the time, the hamlet was simply buried under tens of feet of soil and forgotten.
The town wasrecently rediscovered accidentally by contractors conducting demolitionwork on the site to build a park, which has since been canceled infavor of a full excavation of Goverthing. A tour costs $5, and Idefinitely recommend seeing the incredible work they've done in person.The site is only open through October 11, after which it will be closedfor further excavation work.
As you first walk in, you'll first see the top of the town's former water tower sticking out of the dirt:
Incredibly,the well beneath it still runs to this day. For this public exhibit,the excavators have attached a make-shift pump to draw water up - andit works! You can try it when you visit and see a stream of waterpouring out:
As you walk along, you'll see the tops of rusted power line towers poking up from the ground, cables still attached:
One can only imagine how deep into the ground they must go:
Detail:
Thecenterpiece of the excavation site is the town church (note thechimneys of what are most likely former residences in the foreground):
I reallywish I had taken notes on the history of Goverthing while I was there -it seems to be a bit hard to find any information at all online, forsome reason. Apparently, the original weathervane has been removed toprotect it from the elements and can be seen in the history exhibitindoors.
The archaeologists have removed a stained-glass window from one side of the steeple to allow entry to the belfry.
A complex system of bells and chimes can be operated manually, still in full working order:
As you walk the grounds, you start to notice more and more chimneys poking out of the dirt, waiting to be unearthed:
Some evenhave antennas still attached (remember, it was the 1950s when the townwas buried, and you needed to get reception somehow back then!):
Another chimney:
This chimney still has a weathervane attached...
...though it is in a sad state of deterioration from the elements:
Another chimney:
You also start to notice street lights as you move to what must have been the town's center:
Another streetlight. It's frankly fascinating to think of yourself perched so high up over the remnants of a former town:
According toone of the archaeologists that was on site to answer questions, therewas a single factory in town during the 1900's, which manufactured snow(remember, it was the 1950's, and year-round snow was difficult to comeby back then):
The top of two factory chimneys - you can still see "SNO" written on the left one. Also note the two smaller towers in front:
One says "SNOW" (love the dripped paint):
The other says "WATER." I'd love to someday take a tour of the snow factory, and hope it is fully unearthed by next summer.
Perched inthe center of the factory roof is this man, who I can only imaginefounded the snow factory. Apparently, his light could once be seen allover town.
Ancient birds nests still dot the factory arch. 1950's birds nests?
As you make your way along, more significant progress has been made in excavating...
...including a fully exposed gas station:
Two gas pumps lie half-buried out front:
I love the colors and the mechanics on this one...
I also like this one, though I'm not sure how it pumped gas with only a moviola flip book inside:
I also love the 1950's curves and angles of the gas station entrance:
Inside, the station is in reasonable shape...
...and even features a fully functioning jukebox!
On the side of the gas station...
...are thesebizarre devices, which I can only imagine were phones (remember, it wasthe 1950's, and phone technology was primitive at best back then):
Finally, as you are walking out, you'll pass several cars, half-exposed and in a sad state:
Another car. Amazing the city would simply bury them in, and not sell them at auction or something.
I had anexcellent time wandering the excavation site and learning about thehistory of Goverthing, and at $5, it's a steal. Bring some friends tocompletely surprise and check it out next time you're on GovernorsIsland. It was easily as thrilling as the time I paid to see the FeejeeMermaid.
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