Vintage Photographs Show Castles in Washington Heights Before the Cloisters

Fort Tryon Park is a 66 acre park established in 1935 that sits at the Northern tip of Manhattan's Washington Heights neighborhood and also houses the grounds for The Met Cloisters museum. In these vintage photographs from the Met, check out what Washington Heights looked like before the Cloisters and Fort Tryon Park.

Washington Heights—the neighborhood in northern Manhattan that houses The Cloisters museum and gardens—is built upon a series of bluffs and cliffs. Concrete staircases and creaky subway elevators connect different sections of the neighborhood, and buildings stand tall on stilts driven deep into Manhattan schist. […] However, despite its once-impenetrable terrain, or maybe because of it, Washington Heights is a place where some of the wildest and most romantic medieval-architecture fantasies in New York City have been realized for over 150 years.

Check out the accompanying article for more info on the castles in the photos.

Former estate of C.K.G. Billings, 1913–14
Former estate of C.K.G. Billings, 1913–14
Photo: The Met
Libbey Castle during demolition, March 1931
Libbey Castle during demolition, March 1931
Photo: The Met
Postcard of Paterno Castle, as seen from Riverside Drive and West 181st Street, undated
Postcard of Paterno Castle, as seen from Riverside Drive and West 181st Street, undated
Photo: The Met
Libbey Castle, undated photo
Libbey Castle, undated photo
Photo: The Met
Postcard of Paterno Castle, early 1930s
Postcard of Paterno Castle, early 1930s
Photo: The Met

via The Met

Matt Coneybeare

Matt Coneybeare

Editor in Chief

Matt enjoys exploring the City's with his partner and son. He is an avid marathon runner, and spends most of his time eating, running, and working on cool stuff.

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