Castle Clinton

The story

More than 7.5 million people passed through this circular sandstone fort before Ellis Island ever opened. Built between 1808 and 1811 on an artificial island off Lower Manhattan, it was designed by John McComb Jr. and garrisoned in 1812, yet never fired a shot in war. The city repurposed it in 1824 as a 6,000-seat entertainment venue. Then, for 35 years beginning in 1855, it became America's first immigration station — a beer garden and theater turned gateway to a country.