Image from the Battery

Battery Promenade & The Gardens of Remembrance

Site Conditions Pre–renovation

The Battery Promenades had suffered from years of neglect. The gangways and staircases were not aligned, making access to the waterborne transportation difficult. Corroded iron fencing served as a barrier to the waterfront, restricting harbor views and pedestrian access.

Reconstruction Plan and Funding

The Conservancy created a plan with the following objectives:

  • Line up The Battery’s 6 gangways with staircases to the Upper Promenade
  • Remove barriers to the waterfront
  • Replace outdated benches with a stunning granite bench that reflects the history of the site
  • Reconnect the section of the promenade that had been bisected by the East Coast War Memorial

The Conservancy raised $400,000 in private funds, which leveraged $6.2 million in NYC capital funds. The Saratoga Associates were selected as the landscape architects for the project.

Description of Project

The rebuilt Upper Promenade opened in 2001. The defining element of the reconstructed Upper Promenade is the serpentine Stony Creek granite bench that runs the length of the promenade for 1,500 feet and gracefully outlines the prow of Manhattan Island. Each face of the bench’s 23 piers is decorated with a beautifully carved spiral.

Named The Battery Wave, the spiral is based on the golden mean. Its shape is echoed in the kerbed piers and the arched cast iron supports of the slatted bench. The Battery Wave, alone and as a repeated design element, reinforces the vital tie between the Battery’s landscape and New York’s Harbor.

The granite of the bench was quarried in Stony Creek, Connecticut, which also produced the stone for the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty in 1886.

Along the elevated portion of the promenade lies the 10,000 square foot Gardens of Remembrance. These vast perennial gardens pay tribute to:

  • Those who perished on September 11, 2001
  • The survivors of that day
  • All who will visit in the years to come seeking renewed optimism and hope
Gardens of Remembrance

Renowned Dutch garden designer, Piet Oudolf, has designed these gardens, planted on May 8th, 2003, with native grasses and flowering perennials. They embrace the waterfront, are in rhythm with the sea breeze, and delight the eye, while greeting millions of annual visitors to the Battery.

The Conservancy has established a $4 million endowment fund to maintain the Gardens of Remembrance in perpetuity. To date $1 million has been donated from the Verizon Foundation.

View a slideshow of the Garden’s progress.

See a map of where the gardens have been planted and a complete list of selected plants.

If you would like to be a part of creating and preserving these tribute gardens, please go to our Donations page

Design Team