Academy Architecture
Quoting text from the 1956 edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica
West Point is situated in the highlands of the Hudson in a setting of great beauty. The main buildings of the academy and the Cadet chapel above them are all constructed of native granite in the Gothic style.
Some of the buildings of special interest are: the Cadet chapel; the riding hall, one of the largest in the world; the administration building, unusual for the fact that its i6o-ft. tower is of solid masonry construction without a steel frame; Cullum Memorial hall, patterned after the second Erechtheum; central barracks and the old Cadet chapel, rich in associations with famous graduates; the Ordnance museum, containing an interesting collection of weapons, models and trophies; and the library, which contains many rare manuscripts, engravings and sketches.
In addition to the buildings of the Military academy there are several monuments, the most prominent of which is Battle monument, erected to the memory of the officers and men of the regular army who fell during the Civil War in the defense of the Union.
There are also seven old revolutionary redoubts in the hills behind the academy and three forts-Forts Clinton, Putnam and Constitution-which were also built during the Revolution. On Trophy point are many cannon, relics of U.S. wars and several links,of the great chain that was stretched across the Hudson at West Point during the Revolution.
