Governors Island: on the Wall and in the Flesh

Gothamist learned too late about Governors Island, a photography exhibit at the Municipal Art Society gallery, closing this Thursday, July 8.

New York-based photographers Liza Kereszi and Andrew Moore documented a vast array of the island's indoor and outdoor spaces, from military structures to a Burger King to a bowling alley (pictured). If you can't make the exhibit, a slideshow of the majority of the 29 color photographs are on view online.

Better yet, why not visit the island this summer? One-hour weekday tours are offered Tuesdays-Fridays at 10am and 1pm until September 3, 2004. Additionally, the island's esplanade is open for recreational use on Saturdays through late September. Visit the National Park Service's Governors Island page for information about ferry access to the island.

The 172-acre island has served many different roles over the centuries, from private grounds of New York's royal governors under colonization (how the island's name originated), to military fortification during the Revolutionary War and War of 1812, to prison during the Civil War, to US Army headquarters, to US Coast Guard base. Now open to the public as a national monument, we're definitely adding this to our list of New York sites to visit.