STATE & NATION TRAVEL · events
Fort Wadsworth collections pop-up offers two free October 24 sessions on Staten Island
By Staff Writer · Published October 14, 2026
Gateway's museum staff will present selected collection objects at the visitor center. Registration is requested for limited spaces at 1 or 2 p.m.
Official event date: National Park Service · October 24, 2026
Gateway National Recreation Area will bring selected museum objects into a public collections pop-up at Fort Wadsworth on Saturday, October 24. The free program runs from 1 to 3 p.m. at the Fort Wadsworth Visitor Center, 120 New York Avenue, on Staten Island.
NPS says museum staff will highlight items from a collection that includes drawings, photographs, military manuals, architectural pieces and uniforms. Some displayed objects will relate to the American Revolutionary period as part of the nation's 250th-anniversary commemoration. The listing offers separate registration slots at 1 and 2 p.m., with limited places.
What Travelers Need to Know
Follow the Register link on the official NPS event page to Gateway's Eventbrite organizer page and confirm a place for your chosen session before traveling. The NPS listing does not show remaining capacity; free admission should not be taken as a promise of walk-in availability.
Navigate to the visitor center at 120 New York Avenue, not Gateway's general mailing address. Although Gateway manages parklands in both New York and New Jersey, this event takes place on Staten Island, New York.
The venue's regular visitor-center hours are Friday through Monday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The October 24 collections program has its own two-hour window within that schedule. Recheck the event listing for changes rather than expecting the special display throughout the day.
About the Location
Fort Wadsworth occupies the northeastern shore of Staten Island at the Narrows, the entrance to New York Harbor. Its fortifications explain the military material in Gateway's collection: this was a strategic harbor-defense location long before it became a recreation destination.
British forces fortified the area in 1779. Later American defenses included Battery Weed and Fort Tompkins, which were rebuilt during the nineteenth century as military technology changed. The Navy transferred Fort Wadsworth to NPS in 1994. Today the visitor center interprets the site's defense history, while the overlook provides views of the harbor the fortifications were built to protect.