The Battery Conservancy

The southern shoreline of Manhattan Island had been known as the Battery, and  it was a famous promenade(stroll) since at least the 17th century. At the time, The battery served as protection to the town. It was the center of Evacuation Day celebrations commemorating the separation of the last British troops in USA after the American Revolutionary War. The relatively modern park was first created by landfill at the time of 19th century.It was resulting in a landscaped open space at the foot of the heavily developed mainland of downtown. Skyscrapers now occupy most of the original land, stopping suddenly where the park begins. On State Street,a single Federal mansion survives as the Shrine of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton,the former sanctuary front and the northern boundary of the park.The city's stylish residential district lay north of this house, between Broadway and the "North River" now especially known as the Hudson River, Until the 1820s.