McGowen’s Pass: Gateway to Midtown Manhattan
McGowan’s Pass around the time of the War of 1812
I know McGowen’s Pass doesn’t sound as familiar as the Holland or the Lincoln Tunnels. That’s because it was the main gateway to Manhattan during the Revolutionary War.
The gatehouse that guarded the pass stood in a strategic spot where 107th Street and Sixth Avenue would have intersected. Today, it’s a part of the East Drive in Central Park and not considered very strategic at all.
General Washington and his troops marched through the pass on their way to the Battle of Long Island in 1776. After Washington’s retreat, the area was occupied by the British until the end of the war. Then during the War of 1812, it was re-fortified.
A cannon on the site of Fort Clinton at MrGowen’s Pass (never fired at the enemy! Thank goodness!)
In my young adult adventure series, Central Park Story, I weave this rich and little-known history into a tale of my own!
