What was Fort Tilden used for after Nov 1975?
Fort Tilden Fort Tilden , also known as Fort Tilden Historic District , is a former United States Army installation on the coast in the New York City borough of Queens . Fort Tilden now forms part of the Gateway National Recreation Area , and is administered by the National Park Service . Fort Tilden Historic District is located on the Rockaway Peninsula , between Jacob Riis Park to the east and Breezy Point Tip to the west . All three of these sites are operated by the National Park Service . Since its decommissioning , the former installation has largely become a natural area of beach , dunes and maritime forest . Most of the old military installations are abandoned , and military structures which formerly housed artillery ( batteries ) and ammunition ( magazines ) are covered in graffiti . A few buildings have been renovated and are used by local arts groups , and some large open areas are used as sports grounds . Atop one of the old batteries , Battery Harris East , a viewing platform has 360-degree views , which include the city , New York Harbor , and the Atlantic Ocean . The wilder parts of Fort Tilden are popular with bird-watchers and other nature-lovers , and the beach areas are frequently used for fishing . Military history . The fort first served as a coast artillery installation and ended its service as a Nike Hercules and Nike Ajax missile site . However , the historic gun batteries and other military fortifications remain closed to the public . Some of these structures are very hazardous . World War I . The fort was established as Camp Rockaway Beach shortly after the United States entered World War I in April 1917 . Several temporary military installations had been built at or near the site since the War of 1812 against the British . It was named after Samuel J . Tilden , one-term Governor of New York State and Democratic Presidential candidate in 1876 . An unnamed battery from the United States Army Coast Artillery Corps was the first unit deployed to the fort . This battery had four 12-inch coast defense mortars , and was soon joined by two batteries of two 6-inch M1900 guns on pedestal mounts , Battery Kessler and Battery East ( renamed Battery Fergusson in 1939 ) . The mortars were taken from Battery Piper at Fort Hamilton in Brooklyn , and the six-inch guns were brought in from Battery Burke at Fort Hamilton and Battery Kinney at Fort Slocum on Davids Island . However , as the mortars were sited adjacent to Naval Air Station Rockaway there were concerns that when fired they could potentially cause damage to the installation . In 1919-1920 the fixed mounts were replaced with railway mortars that could be moved away from the air station for firing . In 1918-1919 a battery of two 3-inch antiaircraft guns was installed at the fort . The facility became part of the Harbor Defenses of Southern New York , joining Fort Hamilton and Fort Wadsworth on Staten Island . The railway mortars and their tracks were probably removed in 1921 to make room for Battery Harris . Inter-war period . In March 1921 the city of New York would become one of the first locations in the United States to be defended by 16-inch M1919 guns ; these were the most powerful weapon in the United States arsenal when construction began on Battery Harris . The coastal artillery installation became operational in December 1924 . Its two guns were originally mounted in the open ; ammunition was delivered on a railway system . This had evolved from its initial design as one of the first dispersed batteries ; the two unprotected guns were spaced at , about twice the of earlier batteries for 12-inch guns . As the dispersed battery concept was improved , the spacing at later works increased to and finally at Fort Story . The battery was named for Henry Leavenworth Harris , a career Army officer who died in 1920 . World War II . In 1941-42 a massive concrete casemate was built to enclose the guns at Battery Harris . The bunker , which was constructed to provide protection against air attack , also contained ammunition magazines and the fire control system . Fort Tilden was supplemented during the war with another 16-inch gun battery at the Highlands Military Reservation near Navesink , New Jersey . As both batteries had 16-inch guns , all the older heavy guns defending New York were subsequently removed and scrapped in 1942-44 , except two pairs of long-range 12-inch guns at Fort Hancock on Sandy Hook in New Jersey . Additional 16-inch batteries were proposed for Fort Wadsworth and a location that is now part of JFK Airport , but these were never built . Several smaller batteries were built in and near Fort Tilden during the war . Battery 220 was completed but not armed ; it was primarily an ammunition bunker for two 6-inch guns that were never delivered . Four Anti-Motor Torpedo Boat ( AMTB ) batteries were built during the war , two each at Norton Point and Rockaway Point ( aka Breezy Point ) . Norton Point had AMTB 18 with four 3-inch M1902 guns and AMTB 19 with four 90 mm dual-purpose guns . The 3-inch guns were all on pedestal mounts ; the 90 mm AMTB batteries were authorized two fixed guns and two towed guns . Rockaway Point had AMTB 20 with two 3-inch M1902 guns and AMTB 21 with four 90 mm guns . All six 3-inch guns for these batteries came from Battery Catlin at Fort Wadsworth , and AMTB 18 was also called Battery New Catlin . After the war it was determined that gun defenses were obsolete , and Fort Tilden was disarmed , with all guns removed for scrap in 1948 . Cold War . In 1950 , as the fear of Soviet air attack grew , a battalion of sixteen 90 mm guns was deployed at Fort Tilden , which was renamed Site NY-43 as part of the United States air defense system . The site remained active until 1954 . An additional four-gun 90 mm battery was in the area 1951-54 , and two four-gun batteries of 120 mm guns were at the fort 1952-55 . In 1955 the AA guns were replaced by a Nike-Ajax missile site called NY-49 . A photograph shows at least two launch sites with six rails each were at Fort Tilden . These were converted to the nuclear-capable Nike-Hercules missile in 1958 . The Nike-Hercules system was deactivated throughout the US in 1972 . Army Reserve post . From the late 1960s until at least 1978 , Fort Tilden was an Army Reserve Post , housing a Signal Corps unit , the 411th Engineer Brigade , and an Army Reserve self-propelled 8 howitzer battalion , originally the 5/51st Field Artillery ( FA ) and renamed in the early 70s the 7/9th FA . From the late 1960s until the 1980s , Fort Tilden served as a United States Army Reserve post , with the 187th Infantry Brigades 5/5th FA ; a towed 105 mm howitzer battalion stationed there until the 187th was deactivated in 1995 . Fort Tilden was also the location of the 411th Engineer Brigade , which was headquartered there from 1968 to 1978 . Fort Tilden remained an Army installation until the late 1970s , when it was decommissioned and turned over to the National Park Service , and made part of the Gateway National Recreation Area . A number of structures are included in an historic district listed on the National Register of Historic Places , including the two concrete casemates for the 16/50 caliber M1919 guns of Battery Harris . Nature area . Fort Tilden is an important nesting area for the threatened Piping Plover , a species which NPS—as part of a large global effort—is working to protect . The eggs and chicks are very small and highly camouflaged , so they are extremely difficult to see . It is very easy to step on the eggs and kill the unhatched chicks . Under New York and Federal laws persons may be arrested and fined for killing , harassing , teasing , or in any way disturbing birds nesting in this area . Keep out of areas delineated by string fences and signs . Common Terns and Least Terns also make their nests on the beach at Fort Tilden . These two species are threatened in New York State as well .