Governors Island

In 1902, Secretary of War Elihu Root asked the Prominent New York architectural firm of McKim, Meade & White to create a grand master plan for a new Army base on Governors Island. Part of Root's vision was the expansion of the Island using excavated material from the construction of the Lexington Avenue Subway. This expansion more than doubled the size of the Island from 69 to 172 acres. Liggett Hall, completed in 1929, was the first structure constructed upon the land fill. For structural stability, the foundation of the massive 380,000 square foot building rests on steel piles driven down to the bedrock at the Island's base.

Built to replace the rough, temporary wood frame structures erected for World War I housing, Liggett Hall housed an entire regiment: More than 2,500 men. The 16th Infantry Regiment, called "New York's Own," occupied the building from 1930 through 1940. Subsequent Army and Coast Guard uses altered the interior to reflect the needs of the time. The large center section above the monumental archway was a massive drill hall, over 200 feet long, where soldiers practiced Army formations and maneuvers. It was primarily used as a gymnasium in later years.

Liggett Hall is among the largest Army barracks ever constructed. Its length is approximately 1,050 ft., almost as long as the Chrysler Building in midtown Manhattan is high.

The imposing structure was named for General Hunter Liggett whose positions included Chief of Staff for the American Army in France during World War I.

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Clayton Road
Purchase of Governors Island Monument
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McKim, Meade & White, Architects of Governors Island

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