A Blockhouse from 1812 in Central Park
The Blockhouse in the north end of the park…Not the sort of building you would expect to find in Central Park, no?
I lived next to Central Park for fifteen years but never knew there was an old blockhouse within a half mile of our apartment. Of course, it was in the north end of the park which I was told never to enter alone.
In the 1960s, the north end of the park was a dangerous place for anyone to explore; and as a child who still believed in ghosts and werewolves, it meant certain death.
Today, with the crime rate in the city having plummeted and the north end of the park having become increasingly gentrified, you could probably go there at the stroke of midnight (not me!) and not be bothered by anyone.
I had to sneak a view of the interior through a window
The blockhouse sits on a very steep hill at approximately 108th Street and Central Park West, and is in remarkably good condition considering it’s over 200 years old (see pic to the left). Then again, blockhouses were built to last.
Christopher Middleton, the main character of my young adult adventure series, Central Park Story, manages to get lost and runs across it by mistake.
Perhaps as a result of my lingering fears, I have someone shoot at him past a slit in the wall when he makes his unexpected discovery!
