Governor's Island, just off the southern tip of Manhattan and its financial district has sat abandoned since 1996 when the former federal run military and then Coast Guard base was closed.

A seven-minute ride on a free ferry takes you to this island sanctuary ... chunk of its military-era architecture, including Fort Jay, started in 1776, and Castle Williams, which was completed ...

The fort did not last long under American control ... The first fortifications were built on Governors Island by the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War. In 1794, Congress authorized ...