Harbor Defenses of New York later became known as the first system of US seacoast fortifications. In New York this was initially limited to the large Fort Jay on Governors Island, along with some small batteries on Oyster Island (later Ellis Island) and Bedloe's Island (later Liberty Island). These were simple earthworks at the time. Congress contributed to building Fort Jay in 1797, and in 1800 the state sold the fort, Governors Island, and Bedloe's Island to the federal government for one dollar. Oyster Island was similarly transferred in 1808. The federal government commenced building improved stone forts at all three locations. In June 1807,
Liberty Tower (Manhattan) Liberty Tower (Manhattan) The Liberty Tower, formerly the Sinclair Oil Building, is located at 55 Liberty Street at the corner of Nassau Street in the Financial District of Manhattan, New York City was built in 1909–10 as a commercial office building and was designed by Chicago architect Henry Ives Cobb in a Gothic Revival style. It was built on a site adjacent to the New York City Chamber of Commerce Building (1901); the subsequent New York Federal Reserve Bank building was constructed to the east, across Nassau Street, in 1922. A completely free-standing 33-story building, in 1909 Liberty Tower was