Hudson River Park’s piers were once part of one of the busiest working waterfronts in the world. In this gallery, you’ll find photos of our waterfront’s past life at the heart of New York City’s maritime economy — and often, at the center of world events as well.
1870s-1900
In the 19th century, the Hudson River waterfront became one of the world’s busiest working waterfronts due in part to the opening of the Erie Canal and the advent of the steamship. Oyster barges proliferated along the shoreline and oyster carts were as plentiful as current day hot dog stands. In the photos below, you can take a closer look at the of the waterfront of this era, bustling with horse-drawn carriages on land and steamboats in the Hudson River.
A panoramic view of the Hudson River, 1873 Source: NYPL Collection, Robert N. Dennis collection of stereoscopic views.
Steamboats on the Hudson River, 1885 Source: NYPL Picture collection online
West Hoboken Ferry Terminal , Piers 43 and 45, Greenwich Village, 1887
Workers stand with baskets for unloading oysters, West St. looking north from Charles St., Greenwich Village, c. 1890 Source: Getty Images
Construction of Pier 49, Greenwich Village, 1897
1900-1929
Some of the world’s most celebrated ships came and went from piers in Chelsea and Hell’s Kitchen, transporting soldiers, celebrities, immigrants and more to and from Europe. In the selections below, you can see some of these historic vessels, including the Carpathia, returned to Pier 54 with the survivors of theTitanic in 1912, and a photo of the British steamship the Lusitania as it departed for its final voyage, before it was sunk by a German torpedo in 1915. You can also see photos of troops returning from Europe at the end of World War I.
Piers 46 and 47, Greenwich Village,. c 1903 Source: NYC Municipal Archives
Manhattan skyline, 1903
Chelsea Piers Pier 59 under construction in 1908
Chelsea Piers, Warren and Westmore, 1910, Courtesy: of Chelsea Piers, Source: NYHS
The Carpathia arrived in New York with the Titanic survivors in the evening of April 18, 1912.
The luxury ocean liner Lusitania departed on her final voyage from New York May 1, 1915. On May 7, 1915, six days later, she sank in 18 minutes after being torpedoed by a German Submarine. Source: Corbis Online
Crowds gather to see the Olympic ocean liner, July 23, 1914 Source: Corbis Online
WWI troops returning on the Mauretania. December 2, 1918
The Red Cross are giving sandwiches to the wounded returning from New York City. December, 1918, Source: Bettmann/CORBIS
Pier 84, Hell’s Kitchen, 1925
1930-1949
The Hudson River waterfront continued to welcome some of the largest and most famous ships in the world, including the French ocean liner Normandie, which caught fire at Pier 88 in 1942. In the photo selections below, you can also see the Normandie alongside the other largest ships of its day, the Queen Elizabeth and Queen Mary, both of which became troop ships during World War II.
A crowd of thousands gathered to see the French Liner Normandie at Pier 88, which was designed to receive the massive ship. The Normandie set records coming across the Atlantic. June 3, 1935 Source: Corbis Online
A crowd gathered to send off the Normandie for Europe, loaded to capacity with vacationers. June 2, 1937. Source: Bettmann/CORBIS
Four barges with scrap iron to be loaded onto the North German Lloyd Liner, Berlin. October 15, 1937 Source: Corbis Online
The world’s three largest ships at the time, Queen Elizabeth, Queen Mary and Normandie, were only together once in 1940, captured here. All were planned to be made into troopships. Unfortunately the Normandie caught fire and was destroyed two years later.
Then the largest ocean liner, France’s Normandie, catches fire while being transformed by the United States for military use. February 9, 1942.
Cunard White Star ship, 1949
1950-1969
Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, the piers along Manhattan’s West Side continued to welcome great ocean liners, especially along “Luxury Liner row” located along the northern section of the current Park. By the 1950s, Circle Line was also inviting New Yorkers and tourists to experience site-seeing cruises of New York Harbor and on its way to becoming one of New York City’s most famous attractions. In 1963, Pier 40 opened, making history as the largest and most modern passenger and freight terminal in the Port of New York.
A large crowd gathered at Pier 86 to send off the superliner SS United States, then the largest and fastest ship ever built, for her inaugural voyage to Europe. July 3, 1952.
Longshoremen wave their farewells to the Queen Mary as it sets sail for Europe. February 7, 1953. Source: Corbis Online
Circle Line, Pier 83, Hell’s Kitchen, 1950s. Courtesy of Circle Line
The rebuilt liner SS Homeric arrives in New York Harbor after its first trans-atlantic passage from Italy and receives the traditional harbor ceremony for a new vessel. After service as a war transport, the ship was mothballed for a period before it was rebuilt in the US and Italy. February 7, 1955. Source: Corbis Online
The Circle Line at Pier 83, 1959. Courtesy of Circle Line
The Ocean Liner Leonardo da Vinci arrives in New York following its maiden voyage. 1960. Source: Corbis Online
New York’s “Luxury Liner row” during peak-season for transatlantic ships. From top to bottom, these ships are: The Leonardo Da Vinci; The France; The Bremen; The United States; The Freighter American Builder, the Hanseatic and the White-Hulled Constitution. July 7, 1965. Source: Corbis Online
On her return from a world cruise, Holland-America Line’s flagship Rotterdam is nudged up to Pier 40 for the first time., 1963. Source: The New York Times
