Battery Lewis, Hartshorne Woods Park
All Work | Battery Lewis, Hartshorne Woods Park
Battery Lewis, Hartshorne Woods Park
Highlands, New Jersey
Scope
Secluded on a hillside in Atlantic Highlands, the 600-foot-long reinforced concrete and steel gun emplacement structure, covered with earth, was completed in 1943 and was one of the primary defenses for NY Harbor during WW2. In spite of the Army’s coastal defense program - facing obsolescence before the construction at Battery Lewis was even complete, the structure featured two 16 inch, MkII M1 guns and all the necessary support facilities.
JHPA, Inc/JHPArchitects PC was enlisted by Monmouth County Parks System to complete a full conditions assessment and create restoration documents for the Battery and replacement of the 68-foot gun. The restoration reintroduced viable programming into an otherwise inactive structure within the park while providing educational programming and a heightened visitor experience into the importance of these war time gun batteries in protecting American ports during the war.
In addition to restoration of the concrete and steel elements, the JHPA team developed ingenious approaches to dealing with ongoing water and humidity issues that plagued the structure from the start.
The crowning touch was obtaining and mounting a120-ton, 16 inch, 68-foot-long MkII M1 gun from the Norfolk Naval Shipyard in Virginia, which was restored and repainted to match the correct 1940s Army specifications.