4. There is a “castle” in Bayside, the Fort Totten Officers’ Club
The Fort Totten Officers’ Club, nicknamed the Castle, is a clubhouse at Fort Totten that now houses the Bayside Historical Society. The two-story Late Gothic Revival building, which was built in the 1870s, includes identical three-story towers with a wood parapet surrounding the structure. The structure was originally the Mess Hall of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers School of Application. In 1902, the Army moved personnel and materials to Washington Barracks in Washington, D.C. The Army maintained and used the building for various purposes until 1970, after which it was turned into a job corps center for New York City.
The Bayside Historical Society was founded in 1964 to collect, preserve, and disseminate information about Bayside’s history, as well as lead preservation efforts for Bayside’s historic structures. As such, their presence in one of Bayside’s most elaborate historic structures is fitting. The Castle has hosted the society since 1984 and was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986.