Liggett Hall was a barracks building designed by McKim, Mead & White and built in 1929 on Governors Island

Governors Island

Governors Island is a island in Upper New York Bay, approximately one-half mile from the southern tip of Manhattan Island and separated from Brooklyn by Buttermilk Channel. It is legally part of the borough of Manhattan in New York City...

, a military installation in New York Harbor

New York Harbor

New York Harbor refers to the waterways of the estuary near the mouth of the Hudson River that empty into New York Bay. It is one of the largest natural harbors in the world. Although the U.S. Board of Geographic Names does not use the term, New York Harbor has important historical, governmental,...

. The building was supposedly erected because the Army feared the City of New York was looking to Governors Island as a site for a new municipal airport. The building stretches across nearly the entire island from east to west, thwarting the possibility of building a runway. It was the first Army structure large enough to house all the facilities for an entire regiment.