https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/gallery/2024/may/24/inaccessible-abandoned-islands-new-york-in-pictures Skip to main content The Guardian - Back to home * News * Opinion * Sport * Culture * Lifestyle [ ] Show More * News + US news + US elections 2024 + Donald Trump trials + World news + Environment + Ukraine + Soccer + Business + Tech + Science + Newsletters + Wellness * Opinion + The Guardian view + Columnists + Letters + Opinion videos + Cartoons * Sport + Soccer + NFL + Tennis + MLB + MLS + NBA + NHL + F1 + Golf * Culture + Film + Books + Music + Art & design + TV & radio + Stage + Classical + Games * Lifestyle + Wellness + Fashion + Food + Recipes + Love & sex + Home & garden + Health & fitness + Family + Travel + Money [ ] What term do you want to search? Search with google * Support us * Print subscriptions * US edition + switch to the UK edition + switch to the Australia edition + switch to the International edition + switch to the Europe edition * Search jobs * Digital Archive * Guardian Licensing * About Us * The Guardian app * Video * Podcasts * Pictures * Inside the Guardian * Guardian Weekly * Crosswords * Wordiply * Corrections * Facebook * Twitter * Search jobs * Digital Archive * Guardian Licensing * About Us [1920] The inaccessible and abandoned islands of New York - in pictures Lighthouse, Execution Rock, 2023. Photograph: Phillip Buehler The inaccessible and abandoned islands of New York - in pictures * Share on Facebook * Share on Twitter * Share via Email Photographer Phillip Buehler, who captured the death of the American mall in a 2022 photo series, has a new exhibition of pictures from the last 50 years that trace the often forgotten history of the islands surrounding Manhattan. No Man Is an Island: Poetry in the Ruins of the New York Archipelago is now on show until 23 June at the Front Room Gallery in Hudson, New York. * Words and photographs by Phillip Buehler Main image: Lighthouse, Execution Rock, 2023. Photograph: Phillip Buehler Fri 24 May 2024 03.10 EDT Last modified on Fri 24 May 2024 08.57 EDT * Ferry 'Ellis Island', Ellis Island, 1974 Immigration through Ellis Island once connected America to the rest of the world. The story of quotas set in the 1920s - meant to keep out then-undesirable Italians, Poles, eastern European Jews, Chinese and Japanese - is obscured from the main narrative. The immigration station completely closed in 1954 and in 1968 the ferry Ellis Island sank at its dock, eventually being dredged in 2009 Photograph: Phil Buehler Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Ferry "Ellis Island," Ellis Island, 1974 * Thunderbolt rollercoaster, Coney Island, 1997 Coney Island was originally an island but became a peninsula when Coney Island Creek was filled in. The Thunderbolt was built in 1925, abandoned in 1982 and demolished in 2000. The Thunderbolt was the rollercoaster with a house underneath and was made famous in Woody Allen's film Annie Hall. It was demolished by the city in 2000 Photograph: Phil Buehler Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Thunderbolt rollercoaster, Coney Island, 1997 * Rat Island, 2023 This small island sits between City Island and Hart Island. In the 1800s, people infected with typhoid were quarantined there Photograph: Phil Buehler Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Rat Island, 2023 * Bannerman Castle, Pollepel Island, 2023 Bannerman's Arsenal, more well-known as Bannerman's Castle, was on Pollepel Island in the Hudson River. This was a profiteering storehouse where surplus weapons and material acquired cheaply after the end of one American war were resold at the start of the next. Built in 1901, it was abandoned in 1950 after which the roof and floors burned and the front wall collapsed. The ruins were stabilized in 2014 Photograph: Phil Buehler Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Bannerman Castle, Pollepel Island, 2023 * * Lighthouse, Execution Rock, 2023 The name is said to derive from colonial New York, when slave-owning settlers were said to have murdered enslaved people by chaining them to the rocks during low tide to let them drown. The Manhattan skyline can be seen just to the left of the lighthouse. Photograph: Phil Buehler Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Lighthouse, Execution Rock, 2023 * Crematorium Chimney, Swinburne Island, 2023 Swinburne is a man-made island that served as a quarantine station. It was built in 1872 after the old Quarantine hospital on Staten Island was burned down by residents not wanting a contagious disease hospital nearby. Swinburne Island is now a bird sanctuary and managed by the National Park Service. Photograph: Phil Buehler Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Crematorium Chimney, Swinburne Island, 2023 * The Registry Room, Ellis Island, 1974 The Registry Room, or 'Great Hall', is where over 13 million immigrants were processed. The luckier ones were processed in a few hours, while the less fortunate might be held for further inspection or quarantined if they had a communicable disease. It was built in 1900 and abandoned in 1954 when the immigration station closed. In 1974 when the island was forgotten, it sat empty and abandoned. It was restored in 1990 and is now the home of the National Immigration Museum Photograph: Phil Buehler Share on Facebook Share on Twitter The Registry Room, Ellis Island, 1974 * Monorail, Steeplechase Park, Coney Island, 1981 Originally opened in 1897, Steeplechase was one of Coney Island's original parks, which also included Dreamland and Luna Parks. It closed in 1964 and was bought by Fred Trump, Donald Trump's father, and demolished before it could be landmarked in a failed attempt to build condos. It later reopened with children's amusement park rides in 1970, was again abandoned in 1980, and torn down to make way for a stadium for the minor league baseball team the Brooklyn Cyclones Photograph: Phillip Buehler Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Monorail, Steeplechase Park, Coney Island, 1981 * * Fort Slocum Barracks, David's Island, 2000 David's Island, where Fort Slocum was located, was the principal embarkation point for thousands of doughboys in the first world war, but only after the US was dragged into the 'war to end all wars'. During the cold war, the island held the radar control center for Nike missiles stationed on nearby Hart Island, installed to protect against a Russian nuclear attack. The fort was closed in 1965 and sat abandoned until 2008 when the remaining buildings were demolished, with hopes to turn the island into a park Photograph: Phillip Buehler Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Fort Slocum Barracks, David's Island, 2000 * Potter's Field, Hart Island, 2024 Hart Island is home to New York City's potter's field, where over a million people are buried, many of whose bodies went unclaimed. Many of those who died of Aids, as well as some casualties of the Covid pandemic, are buried there. The burial detail is made up of inmates from nearby Rikers Island prison. It has been taken over by the New York City parks department and is being turned into a park Photograph: Phillip Buehler Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Potter's Field, Hart Island, 2024 * Nike missile silo, Hart Island, 2023 New York City was once ringed with 19 missile batteries to protect against a Russian nuclear attack, some armed with nuclear warheads. This one was built in 1955 and deactivated in 1960 Photograph: Phillip Buehler Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Nike missile silo, Hart Island, 2023 Topics * Photography * New York More galleries Most popular * Film * Books * Music * Art & design * TV & radio * Stage * Classical * Games * News * Opinion * Sport * Culture * Lifestyle Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning Sign up for our email * About us * Help * Complaints & corrections * SecureDrop * Work for us * Privacy policy * Cookie policy * Terms & conditions * Contact us * All topics * All writers * Digital newspaper archive * Facebook * YouTube * Instagram * LinkedIn * Twitter * Newsletters * Advertise with us * Guardian Labs * Search jobs Support the Guardian Available for everyone, funded by readers Support us Back to top (c) 2024 Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. Close