4. It Was Home to a Lost Military Fort
Fort Gansevoort once stood between Gansevoort Street and West 12th Street, strategically placed near the Hudson River to defend the city from attack during the War of 1812. Named for the Revolutionary War officer Peter Gansevoort, it was completed that year shortly before the outbreak of the war and mounted 22 guns, barracks, a magazine, arsenal, and shot furnace. However, the fort didn’t see action, as New York City wasn’t attacked during the war.
Fort Gansevoort was destroyed in either 1849 or 1854. An art gallery on the corner of Gansevoort Street and 9th Avenue adopted the name of Fort Gansevoort.
