In the News: Rethinking Castle Clinton

••• The Broadsheet looks ahead at the Battery, both short-term and long. Didn’t know about the plan for Castle Clinton, and not persuaded by the rendering.

••• Tutto Il Giorno “partners Gabby Karan and chef Maurizio Marfoglia are dividing up their turf. Karan will oversee Tutto’s Southampton outpost, as well as the Tribeca location, while Marfoglia will remain at the Sag Harbor flagship which will now be called Dopo La Spiaggia.” —Eater

••• “A cash collector emptying out vending machines in Tribeca had his haul stolen while on a lunch break last week.” —Downtown Express

••• The New Yorker reviews the Ship, a “cocktail lounge, at the bottom of a long staircase, reached through an unassuming black door on Lafayette Street, near Grand.”

 

7 Comments

  1. I am not persuaded by the rendering, either. Plus, the idea that they are going to make it into a performance venue as it was in the far distant past is ridiculous. I’ve been to some great shows at Castle Clinton within the last 5-10 years. I’ve seen Laurie Anderson, John Zorn, Drive By Truckers, Antibalas… The list goes on. The idea that this building needs a big pot of developer money to be a prime performance venue is patently ridiculous. It is excellent just as it is.

  2. I love the idea of repurposing Castle Clinton back to a performance space. It’s an idea that should be given serious consideration. This is just a rendering and I would love to see more.

  3. Castle Clinton is a National Monument, ownd and run by the Nation Parks Service , so anything that might be done would have to go through the government, a lengthy and slow process.

    If you want to read more information about the fort, its history and possible future development you can look here at a plan from 1996 https://books.google.com/books?id=5dc3AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA23&lpg=PA23&dq=general+management+plan+castle+clinton+ny&source=bl&ots=oYuhdjITUx&sig=Qq5fmwrCnBGn4YWz9k5lpGk71dA&hl=en&sa=X#v=onepage&q=general%20management%20plan%20castle%20clinton%20ny&f=false.

    And why is the Conservancy so interested in changing it?

  4. Re Castle Clinton: I received this the other day from Shakespeare Downtown
    “We would like to announce the dates for Shakespeare Downtown’s Romeo and Juliet at Castle Clinton National Monument in Battery Park. The play will run from June 7th – June 25th (Tuesdays – Saturdays) from 6:30 pm to 8:15 pm. (Additional information about the play can be found on our website – http://www.shakespearedowntown.org and on Shakespeare Downtown’s Facebook page.) We very much hope you will join us this June!”
    The shows by this group have always been very enjoyable.

  5. Does this mean New York Classical Theatre will no longer be doing Shakespeare there, or is this in addition to Downtown Shakespeare’s performances? NYCT had been doing productions there for several years.

    • We’ve known that The Battery Conservancy has been conceiving of this plan for nearly a decade. Thank you for alerting us to this situation – we will be looking into it. Please note that we will be celebrating our 10th annual collaboration with the NPS (Castle Clinton) and The Battery with an All-Free production of Shakespeare’s “The Winter’s Tale” from July 18 – August 7. The production will then move to Brooklyn Bridge Park (Pier 1) July 9 -14 (no performance on July 11th). Please visit newyorkclassical.org for all details!

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