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Fort Tilden is a former United States Army installation in the New York City borough of Queens. The fort is located on the Rockaway Peninsula, and is just west of Jacob Riis Park.
Following a number of temporary military installations on or near the location dating as far back as the War of 1812, and ending with Naval Air Station Rockaway (the departure point of the first transatlantic flight), the fort was established about the time of American involvement in World War I in 1917. It is named after Samuel J. Tilden, one-term governor of New York State and Democratic Presidential candidate in 1876. The fort first served as a coastal artillery installation and ended its service as a Nike Hercules and Nike Ajax missile site. Fort Tilden remained an Army installation until 1974 when it was decommissioned and turned over to the National Park Service, and made part of the Gateway National Recreation Area. A number of structures are included in an historic district listed on the National Register of Historic Places, including the cement casemates for the largest cannon (16" diameter) ever employed on land up to that time. During the 1980s it served as a United States Army Reserve post, with the 187th Infantry Brigade's 5/5th Field Artillery, a towed-105mm howitzer battalion, stationed there until the 187th was deactivated in 1995.
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