New York City Aquarium, 1900.

“West Battery,” a sandstone fort built on an artificial island, was completed in 1811 as part of the re-fortification of New York Harbor ahead of the War of 1812. It was renamed Castle Clinton in 1815, for DeWitt Clinton, then the Mayor of New York City.

Since then, the structure has served a variety of diverse purposes: first, as an entertainment venue (1815-1854); second, as the nation’s first immigrant processing center (1855-1892), before the federal government, fearing contagion, moved its immigration facilities to Ellis Island; and finally, as the New York City Aquarium (1896-1941).