North River () is an alternative name for the southernmost portion of the

Hudson River The Hudson River, historically the North River, is a river that flows from north to south largely through eastern New York (state), New York state. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains at Henderson Lake (New York), Henderson Lake in the ...

in the vicinity of

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

and northeastern New Jersey in the United States.

History

Name

In the early 17th century, the entire watercourse was named the North River (Dutch: Noort Rivier") by the

Dutch colonial empire The Dutch colonial empire () comprised overseas territories and trading posts under some form of Dutch control from the early 17th to late 20th centuries, including those initially administered by Dutch chartered companies—primarily the Du ...

; by the early 18th century, the term fell out of general use for most of the river's 300+ mile course. The name remains in limited use among local mariners and others and on some

nautical chart A nautical chart or hydrographic chart is a graphic representation of a sea region or water body and adjacent coasts or river bank, banks. Depending on the scale (map), scale of the chart, it may show depths of water (bathymetry) and heights of ...

s and maps. The term is also used to describe infrastructure on and under the river, including the North River piers, North River Tunnels, and

Riverbank State Park Riverbank State Park is a state park built on top of a sewage treatment facility on the Hudson River, in the New York City borough (New York City), borough of Manhattan. It was opened in 1993. On September 5, 2017, it was renamed Denny Farrell ...

. The origin of the name North River is generally attributed to the Dutch. In describing the major rivers in the

New Netherland New Netherland () was a colony of the Dutch Republic located on the East Coast of what is now the United States. The claimed territories extended from the Delmarva Peninsula to Cape Cod. Settlements were established in what became the states ...

colony, they called the present-day Hudson River the "North River", the present-day

Connecticut River The Connecticut River is the longest river in the New England region of the United States, flowing roughly southward for through four states. It rises 300 yards (270 m) south of the U.S. border with Quebec, Canada, and discharges into Long Isl ...

the "Fresh River", and the

Delaware River The Delaware River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States and is the longest free-flowing (undammed) river in the Eastern United States. From the meeting of its branches in Hancock, New York, the river flows for a ...

the "South River". Another theory is that the North River and

East River The East River is a saltwater Estuary, tidal estuary or strait in New York City. The waterway, which is not a river despite its name, connects Upper New York Bay on its south end to Long Island Sound on its north end. It separates Long Island, ...

were so named for the direction of travel they permitted once having entered the

Upper New York Bay New York Harbor is a bay that covers all of the Upper Bay. It is at the mouth of the Hudson River near the East River tidal estuary on the East Coast of the United States. New York Harbor is generally synonymous with Upper New York Bay ...

. At various times, North River has referred to: * The entire

* The approximately 160-mile portion of the Hudson below its confluence with the

Mohawk River The Mohawk River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed October 3, 2011 river in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It is the largest tributary of the Hudson R ...

, which is under tidal influence * The portion of it running between

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

and

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

* The length flowing between

Lower Manhattan Lower Manhattan, also known as Downtown Manhattan or Downtown New York City, is the southernmost part of the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Manhattan. The neighborhood is History of New York City, the historical birthplace o ...

and

Hudson County, New Jersey Hudson County is a county in the U.S. state of New Jersey, its smallest and most densely populated. Lying in the northeast of the state and on the west bank of the Hudson River, the North Jersey county is part of the state's Gateway Region an ...

. The river's history is strongly connected to the

shipping industry Maritime transport (or ocean transport) or more generally waterborne transport, is the transport of people (passengers or goods (cargo) via waterways. Freight transport by watercraft has been widely used throughout recorded history, as it provi ...

in the

Port of New York and New Jersey The Port of New York and New Jersey is the port district of the New York metropolitan area, New York-Newark metropolitan area, encompassing the region within approximately a radius of the Statue of Liberty National Monument. It includes the sy ...

, which shifted primarily to

Port Newark A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Hamburg, Manche ...

in the mid-20th century due to the construction of the

Holland Tunnel The Holland Tunnel is a vehicular tunnel under the Hudson River that connects Hudson Square and Lower Manhattan in New York City in the east to Jersey City, New Jersey, in the west. The tunnel is operated by the Port Authority of New York an ...

and other river crossings and the advent of

containerization Containerization is a system of intermodal freight transport using intermodal containers (also called shipping containers, or International Organization for Standardization, ISO containers). Containerization, also referred as container stuf ...

. Throughout this multi-century history, the name for the lower portion of the river has remained interchangeable with both North River and Hudson River used to describe it.

19th century

In 1808, U.S. Secretary of the Treasury

Albert Gallatin Abraham Alfonse Albert Gallatin (January 29, 1761 – August 12, 1849) was a Genevan-American politician, diplomat, ethnologist, and linguist. Often described as "America's Swiss Founding Father", he was a leading figure in the early years ...

issued a report of proposed locations for transportation and communication

internal improvements Internal improvements is the term used historically in the United States for public works from the end of the American Revolution through much of the 19th century, mainly for the creation of a transportation infrastructure: roads, turnpikes, can ...

of national importance. The North River figured prominently among his proposals as the best route toward western and northern lands; similar routes were chosen for the

Erie Canal The Erie Canal is a historic canal in upstate New York that runs east–west between the Hudson River and Lake Erie. Completed in 1825, the canal was the first navigability, navigable waterway connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes, ...

and other early canals built by the

New York state New York, also called New York State, is a state in the northeastern United States. Bordered by New England to the east, Canada to the north, and Pennsylvania and New Jersey to the south, its territory extends into both the Atlantic Ocean and ...

. Gallatin noted the following in reference to the North and

s, writing:

20th century

In 1909, two tunnels were under construction: one was called the North River Tunnels, the other, the Hudson Tubes. That year the Hudson–Fulton Celebration was held, commemorating

Henry Hudson Henry Hudson ( 1565 – disappeared 23 June 1611) was an English sea explorer and navigator during the early 17th century, best known for his explorations of present-day Canada and parts of the Northeastern United States. In 1607 and 16 ...

, the first European to record navigating the river, and

Robert Fulton Robert Fulton (November 14, 1765 – February 24, 1815) was an American engineer and inventor who is widely credited with developing the world's first commercially successful steamboat, the (also known as ''Clermont''). In 1807, that steamboat ...

, the first man to use a

paddle steamer A paddle steamer is a steamship or steamboat powered by a steam engine driving paddle wheels to propel the craft through the water. In antiquity, paddle wheelers followed the development of poles, oars and sails, whereby the first uses were wh ...

in America, named the ''

North River Steamboat The ''North River Steamboat'' or ''North River'', colloquially known as the ''Clermont'', is widely regarded as the world's first vessel to demonstrate the viability of using steam propulsion for commercial water transportation. Built in 1807, ...

'', to sail up it, leading to controversy over what the waterway should be called. Much of the shoreline previously used for maritime, rail, and industrial activities has given way to recreational

promenade An esplanade or promenade is a long, open, level area, usually next to a river or large body of water, where people may walk. The historical definition of ''esplanade'' was a large, open, level area outside fortification, fortress or city walls ...

s and piers. On the

Hudson Waterfront The Hudson Waterfront is an urban area of northeastern New Jersey along the lower reaches of the Hudson River, the Upper New York Bay and the Kill van Kull. Though the term can specifically mean the shoreline, it is often used to mean the contig ...

in New Jersey, the

Hudson River Waterfront Walkway The Hudson River Waterfront Walkway, also known as the Hudson River Walkway, is a promenade along the Hudson Waterfront in New Jersey. The ongoing and incomplete project located on Kill van Kull and the western shore of Upper New York Bay and t ...

runs for about 18 miles. In Manhattan, the Hudson River Park runs from

Battery Park The Battery, formerly known as Battery Park, is a public park located at the southern tip of Manhattan#Manhattan Island, Manhattan Island in New York City facing New York Harbor. The park is bounded by Battery Place on the north, with Bowling ...

59th Street 59th Street station may refer to: *59th Street (BMT Fourth Avenue Line) in Brooklyn, New York; serving the trains * 59th Street (IRT Third Avenue Line) a demolished elevated station in Manhattan * 59th Street (IRT Ninth Avenue Line) a demolished e ...

North River on maps

The

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA ) is an American scientific and regulatory agency charged with Weather forecasting, forecasting weather, monitoring oceanic and atmospheric conditions, Hydrography, charting the seas, ...

's current charts call the lower river the "Hudson", and the

United States Geological Survey The United States Geological Survey (USGS), founded as the Geological Survey, is an agency of the U.S. Department of the Interior whose work spans the disciplines of biology, geography, geology, and hydrology. The agency was founded on Mar ...

lists "North River" as an alternative name of the Hudson River without qualifying it as any particular portion of the river.

Hagstrom Map Hagstrom Map, based in Maspeth, Queens, was the best-selling brand of road maps in the New York City metropolitan area from the mid-20th to early 21st century. ''The New York Times'' in 2002 described Hagstrom's ''Five Borough Atlas'' as New York ...

s, formerly the leading mapmaker in the

New York metropolitan area The New York metropolitan area, also called the Tri-State area and sometimes referred to as Greater New York, is the List of cities by GDP, largest metropolitan economy in the world, with a List of U.S. metropolitan areas by GDP, gross metropo ...

and known for occasional quirky and anachronistic names, features, and artifacts on their maps, has labeled all or part of the Hudson adjacent to Manhattan as "North River" on several of its products. For instance, on a 1997 Hagstrom ''Map of Manhattan'', the stretch of river between

, and

, roughly corresponding to the location of the North River piers, was labeled "North River", with the label "Hudson River" used above

Midtown Manhattan Midtown Manhattan is the central portion of the New York City borough of Manhattan, serving as the city's primary central business district. Midtown is home to some of the city's most prominent buildings, including the Empire State Building, the ...

. On a 2000 map of "Northern Approaches to New York City" included in Hagstrom's ''New York

tate Tate is an institution that houses, in a network of four art galleries, the United Kingdom's national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. It is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the UK ...

Road Map'', the entire river adjacent to

was labeled "Hudson River (North River)" with the river further north at

Tappan Zee The Tappan Zee (; also Tappan Sea or Tappaan Zee) is a natural widening of the Hudson River, about across at its widest, in southeastern New York (state), New York. It stretches about along the boundary between Rockland County, New York, Rockl ...

labeled the "Hudson River".

North River piers

Piers along the Hudson shore of Manhattan were formerly used for shipping and berthing ocean-going ships. In shipping notices, they were designated as, for example, "Pier 14, North River". As with the river, the name "North River piers" has largely been supplanted by "Hudson River piers", or just by a pier and number, e.g., "Pier 54". Pier 40 is located at Houston Street, and the numbering of the piers to the north correspond to the nearest numbered street plus 40 – thus, for example, North River Pier 86 is at West 46th Street. Most of the piers that once existed in lower Manhattan fell into disuse or were destroyed in the last half of the 20th century. The remaining piers are Pier A at the Battery and piers ranging from Pier 25 at

North Moore Street North Moore Street is a moderately trafficked street in TriBeCa, a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan. It runs roughly east–west between West Broadway and West Street. Automotive traffic is westbound only. Naming On stree ...

to Pier 99 at

. Many of these piers and the waterfront between them are part of the Hudson River Park which stretches from

to the Battery. The park, a joint project between

and

New York State New York, also called New York State, is a state in the northeastern United States. Bordered by New England to the east, Canada to the north, and Pennsylvania and New Jersey to the south, its territory extends into both the Atlantic Ocean and ...

commenced in 1998, consists of several non-contiguous parcels of land and piers totaling , plus another of the river itself. Several piers were rebuilt for adaptive re-use as part of the park project, with approximately 70% of the planned work complete by 2011.

Status

* Pier A is a designated national and New York City landmark. The building on the pier dates to 1886, and was used by the city's Department of Docks, Harbor Police, and was later a

fireboat A fireboat or Fire-float Pyronaut, fire-float is a specialized watercraft with pumps and nozzles designed for fighting shoreline and shipboard fires. The first fireboats, dating to the late 18th century, were tugboats, retrofitted with ...

station. The pier was closed and renovated from 1992 to November 2014, after which it reopened as a restaurant. * What little remained of Piers 1 through 21 were buried under

landfill A landfill is a site for the disposal of waste materials. It is the oldest and most common form of waste disposal, although the systematic burial of waste with daily, intermediate and final covers only began in the 1940s. In the past, waste was ...

from the

World Trade Center World Trade Centers are the hundreds of sites recognized by the World Trade Centers Association. World Trade Center may also refer to: Buildings * World Trade Center (1973–2001), a building complex that was destroyed during the September 11 at ...

construction project in 1973 and turned into

Battery Park City Battery Park City is a mainly residential planned community and neighborhood on the west side of the southern tip of the island of Manhattan in New York City. It is bounded by the Hudson River on the west, the Hudson River shoreline on the nor ...

. *Pier 25 is a sports and docking facility at the foot of

with a mini golf course. *Pier 26 was rebuilt over 2008–2009 and is home to a new park designed by

OLIN Olin may refer to: People Organizations * OLIN, American landscape architecture firm * Olin Business School at Washington University in St. Louis * Olin College, an undergraduate engineering college in Massachusetts * Olin Corporation, a chem ...

and

Rafael Viñoly Rafael Viñoly Beceiro (1 June 1944 – 2 March 2023) was an Uruguayan-born architect based in New York. He was the principal of Rafael Viñoly Architects, which he founded in 1983. The firm has offices in New York City, Palo Alto, London, Ma ...

and opened in September 2020, featuring a sports court and an engineered wetland. *Pier 34, at Canal Street, contains a ventilation shaft for the

. *

Pier 40 Pier 40 (officially known as Pier 40 at Hudson River Park) is a parking garage, Sport venue, sports facility, and former marine terminal at the west end of Houston Street in Manhattan, New York, within Hudson River Park. It is home to the New ...

, at Houston Street, was built as a terminal for the

Holland America Line Holland America Line N.V. (HAL) is an American cruise line operating as a subsidiary of Carnival Corporation & plc. Founded in 1873 in Rotterdam, Netherlands as the Netherlands-America Steamship Company (NASM), the company operated regular trans ...

in 1962, and now contains various

playing field Play is a range of Motivation#Intrinsic and extrinsic, intrinsically motivated activities done for recreation. Play is commonly associated with children and juvenile-level activities, but may be engaged in at any life stage, and among other high ...

s, long-term parking spaces and the Trapeze School of New York on the roof (during the summer). *The term "

Christopher Street Pier The Christopher Street Pier is a group of piers in Hudson River Park on the Hudson River waterfront of Greenwich Village, Manhattan, New York City, numbered 42, 45, 46, and 51. "Christopher Street Pier" usually refers specifically to Pier 45 op ...

" usually refers specifically to Pier 45 opposite West 10th Street in

Greenwich Village Greenwich Village, or simply the Village, is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street (Manhattan), 14th Street to the north, Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the s ...

. However, it refers to three other piers as well, between Piers 42–51. Pier 51 houses a water-themed playground, part of Hudson River Park. * Piers 52 and 53, also known as Gansevoort Peninsula, were formerly a

New York City Department of Sanitation The New York City Department of Sanitation (DSNY) is the department of the government of New York City responsible for garbage collection, recycling collection, street cleaning, and snow removal. The DSNY is the primary operator of the New York ...

facility used for shipping trash out of Manhattan. They are being converted into a public park, expected to be complete in 2023. Also at the end of Pier 53 is the

FDNY The New York City Fire Department, officially the Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY) is the full-service fire department of New York City, serving all five boroughs. The FDNY is responsible for providing Fire Suppression Services, ...

's Marine 1

facility, occupying a new building completed in 2011. * Pier 54 and Pier 55, part of Hudson River Park since its creation in 1998, was closed in 2011 when it was deemed structurally unsound. Plans were unveiled in November 2014 for a new park designed by

Heatherwick Studio Thomas Alexander Heatherwick, (born 17 February 1970) is an English designer and the founder of London-based design practice Heatherwick Studio. He works with a team of more than 200 architects, designers and entrepreneurs from his studio in ...

and costing $130 million. The project was temporarily canceled in 2017 after costs had grown to $250 million, but was later revived as part of an agreement to complete the remainder of Hudson River Park. The new park, dubbed " Little Island," took the place of the now-dismantled Piers 54 and 55, and opened in May 2021. *

Pier 57 Pier 57 is a long pier located in the Hudson River on the West Side (Manhattan), West Side of Manhattan in New York City. Opened in December 1954, it sits at the end of West 15th Street (Manhattan), 15th Street on Eleventh Avenue (Manhattan), ...

, at 15th Street and 11th Avenue, formerly served as a terminal for shipping and storage of cargo for the Grace Line. Between 1969 and 2003, Pier 57 housed the Hudson Pier Bus Depot for the

New York City Transit Authority The New York City Transit Authority (also known as NYCTA, the TA, or simply Transit, and branded as MTA New York City Transit) is a New York state public-benefit corporations, public-benefit corporation in the U.S. state of New York (state), New ...

.Testimony by State Senator José M. Serrano given before the City Council Transportation Committee Hearing on MTA Environmental Practices
, October 18, 2006 After its abandonment, plans created in 2009 called for an improved pier design for commercial use, initially dubbed the SuperPier by its developer. The renovated pier reopened to the public in April 2022, featuring office space for

Google Google LLC (, ) is an American multinational corporation and technology company focusing on online advertising, search engine technology, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, consumer electronics, and artificial ...

, a food hall, and a rooftop park. *Piers 59–62 are used as

Chelsea Piers Chelsea Piers is a series of piers in Chelsea, on the West Side of Manhattan in New York City. Located to the west of the West Side Highway ( Eleventh Avenue) and Hudson River Park and to the east of the Hudson River, they were originally ...

, which were originally a passenger ship terminal in the early 1900s that was used by the

RMS Lusitania RMS ''Lusitania'' was a United Kingdom, British ocean liner launched by the Cunard Line in 1906. The Royal Mail Ship, the world's largest passenger ship until the completion of her sister three months later, in 1907 regained for Britain the ...

and was the destination of the

RMS Titanic RMS ''Titanic'' was a British ocean liner that Sinking of the Titanic, sank in the early hours of 15 April 1912 as a result of striking Iceberg that struck the Titanic, an iceberg on her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York Ci ...

. The Chelsea Piers Sports & Entertainment Complex opened at the site in 1995. *

Pier 63 Pier 63 was the name for a former Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad railroad barge on the Hudson River in Chelsea, Manhattan, New York City. It was originally located near 23rd Street, adjacent to Chelsea Piers and Hudson River Park ...

was the location of a

Pavonia Ferry The Pavonia Ferry was a ferry service on the North River (Hudson River), Hudson River, operating between New York City and Jersey City, New Jersey, United States. It was launched in 1854. It was sold to the Pavonia Ferry Company of Jersey City for ...

terminal that opened in 1869. The terminal was demolished in 1942, and the pier then housed a

Baltimore and Ohio Railroad The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was the oldest railroads in North America, oldest railroad in the United States and the first steam engine, steam-operated common carrier. Construction of the line began in 1828, and it operated as B&O from 1830 ...

transfer barge. In the late 1980s, boat enthusiast John Krevey converted an old railroad barge on the Hudson River to a floating jetty. * Pier 66 is part of Hudson River Park, It is located at 26th Street and is used for sailing and paddle sports. *Pier 76, formerly the NYPD impound lot, was reopened by the Hudson River Park Trust on June 9, 2021 as a park and cultural space. *Pier 78 is the only Hudson River pier that is privately owned, and is used for sightseeing cruises. *Pier 79 is the

West Midtown Ferry Terminal The West Midtown Ferry Terminal is a passenger bus and ferry terminal serving ferries along the Hudson River in New York City and northeastern New Jersey. It is located at Pier 79 in Hudson River Park adjacent to the West Side Highway at West ...

used by

NY Waterway NY Waterway, or New York Waterway, is a private transportation company running ferry and bus service in the Port of New York and New Jersey and in the Hudson Valley. The company utilizes public-private partnership with agencies such as the Por ...

and

NYC Ferry NYC Ferry is a public network of ferry routes in New York City operated by Hornblower Cruises. , there are six routes, as well as one seasonal route, connecting 25 ferry piers across all five boroughs. NYC Ferry has the largest passenger fleet ...

. Pier 79 connects to an

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French (), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first Art Deco in Paris, appeared in Paris in the 1910s just before World War I and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920 ...

style ventilation shaft for the

Lincoln Tunnel The Lincoln Tunnel is an approximately tunnel under the Hudson River, connecting Weehawken, New Jersey, to the west with Midtown Manhattan in New York City to the east. It carries New Jersey Route 495 on the New Jersey side and the unsigned N ...

. *Pier 81 is site of North River Lobster and World Yacht *Pier 83 is used by

Circle Line Sightseeing Cruises Circle Line Sightseeing Cruises is a boat-based sightseeing and entertainment company in Manhattan, New York. Its principal business is operating guided tours of New York City from its base at Pier 83 in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood. History C ...

. *Pier 84 served as a concert venue from the former

Schaefer Music Festival The Schaefer Music Festival in Central Park was a recurring music festival held in the summer between 1967 and 1976 at Wollman Rink in New York City's Central Park. It featured a number of notable performances. The sponsorship was taken over by ...

. The pier also houses a water-themed playground within Hudson River Park, is a stop for

New York Water Taxi New York Water Taxi (NYWT) is a water taxi service based in New York City. It offers sightseeing, charter, and commuter services mainly to points along the East River and Hudson River. It is one of several private operators of ferry, ferries, s ...

, and has a bicycle rental shop and other businesses serving primarily tourists. *Pier 86 at West 46th Street is home to the ''Intrepid'' Sea, Air & Space Museum, the centerpiece of which is the USS ''Intrepid'', an aircraft carrier that served from World War II to the Vietnam War. This pier once served as the passenger ship terminal for the

United States Lines United States Lines was an organization of the United States Shipping Board's (USSB) Emergency Fleet Corporation (EFC), created to operate German liners seized by the United States in 1917. The ships were owned by the USSB and all finances of t ...

. *Piers 88–92 are part of the

Manhattan Cruise Terminal The Manhattan Cruise Terminal, formerly known as the New York Passenger Ship Terminal or Port Authority Passenger Ship Terminal is a ship terminal for ocean-going passenger ships in Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan, New York City. It was constructed ...

, used by numerous modern

cruise ship Cruise ships are large passenger ships used mainly for vacationing. Unlike ocean liners, which are used for transport, cruise ships typically embark on round-trip voyages to various ports of call, where passengers may go on Tourism, tours k ...

s and

ocean liner An ocean liner is a type of passenger ship primarily used for transportation across seas or oceans. Ocean liners may also carry cargo or mail, and may sometimes be used for other purposes (such as for pleasure cruises or as hospital ships). The ...

s. In 1942, the USS ''Lafayette'' (formerly SS ''Normandie'') caught fire at Pier 88, remaining capsized there for a year. Pier 92 was subsequently used as an exhibition space, but closed in 2019 after the pier was found to be unsafe. *Pier 94 was formerly also part of the Passenger Ship Terminal, and until 2020 housed the "UnConvention Center", the second-largest

exhibition hall A convention center (American English; or conference centre in British English) is a large building that is designed to hold a convention, where individuals and groups gather to promote and share common interests. Convention centers typica ...

in New York City. As of 2023, it is slated to be redeveloped into a film studio. *Pier 96 is part of Hudson River Park. It is the home of Manhattan Community Boathouse, an all-volunteer non-profit organization that offers free kayaking to the public each summer. *Pier 97 is part of Hudson River Park. It was until 1975 the home of the

Swedish American Line Swedish American Line (, abbr. SAL) was a Swedish passenger shipping line. It was founded in December 1914 under the name Rederiaktiebolaget Sverige-Nordamerika and began ocean liner service from Gothenburg to New York City, New York in 1915. ...

passenger ship terminal. The terminal was demolished some time after 1984 and the pier has since been used for various purposes, including many years as a Sanitation Department parking lot and a brief period as a live event venue sponsored by

JBL JBL is an American audio equipment manufacturer headquartered in Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California. The company was founded in 1946 by James Bullough Lansing, an American audio engineer and loudspeaker designer. JBL currently serves the ho ...

and

Live Nation Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. is an American multinational Entertainment industry, entertainment company that was founded in 2010 following the Mergers and acquisitions, merger of Live Nation (events promoter), Live Nation and Ticketmaster. It ...

. In November 2019, it was announced that the pier would be converted into a park, with construction expected to start in September 2020. As of September 2020, the pier is now expected to reopen in March 2024. * Pier 98 is used for Con Edison employee car parking, a training facility and delivery by barge and storage of fuel oil. * Pier 99 houses the West 59th Street Marine Transfer Station, used by the

New York City Sanitation Department The New York City Department of Sanitation (DSNY) is the department of the government of New York City responsible for Municipal solid waste, garbage collection, recycling collection, street cleaning, and snow removal. The DSNY is the primary op ...

. * Pier I and most of Riverside Park South were originally part of the abandoned Penn Central railyard between 59th and 72nd Streets. These lettered piers were built at a 55-degree angle to the shore to facilitate the transfer of rail cars from their tracks to a waiting barge. Pier I is the only remaining rail pier. The 69th Street Transfer Bridge of the

New York Central Railroad The New York Central Railroad was a railroad primarily operating in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The railroad primarily connected New York metropolitan area, gr ...

is still extant and has been listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

since 2003.

Railroads and ferries

Prior to the opening of the North River Tunnels and the

Hudson and Manhattan Railroad The Port Authority Trans-Hudson (PATH) is a rapid transit system in the northeastern New Jersey cities of Newark, Harrison, Jersey City, and Hoboken, as well as Lower and Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is operated as a wholly owne ...

tubes in the early 1900s, passengers and freight were required to cross the river for travel to points east. This led to an extensive network of intermodal terminals,

railyard A rail yard, railway yard, railroad yard (US) or simply yard, is a series of tracks in a rail network for storing, sorting, or loading and unloading rail vehicles and locomotives. Yards have many tracks in parallel for keeping rolling stock or ...

ferry slip A ferry slip is a specialized docking facility that receives a ferryboat or train ferry. A similar structure called a barge slip receives a barge or car float that is used to carry wheeled vehicles across a body of water. Often a ferry intended ...

docks The word dock () in American English refers to one or a group of human-made structures that are involved in the handling of boats or ships (usually on or near a shore). In British English, the term is not used the same way as in American Engli ...

barges A barge is typically a flat-bottomed vessel which does not have its own means of mechanical propulsion. Original use was on inland waterways, while modern use is on both inland and marine water environments. The first modern barges were pull ...

, and

carfloat A railroad car float or rail barge is a specialised form of lighter with railway tracks mounted on its deck used to move rolling stock across water obstacles, or to locations they could not otherwise go. An unpowered barge, it is towed by a tu ...

s. The west shore of the river from the mid 19th to the mid 20th century was home to expansive facilities operated by competing railroads. Most are now gone, allowing for public access to the waterfront at

pier A pier is a raised structure that rises above a body of water and usually juts out from its shore, typically supported by piling, piles or column, pillars, and provides above-water access to offshore areas. Frequent pier uses include fishing, b ...

parks A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are green spaces set aside for recreation inside towns and cities. N ...

promenades An esplanade or promenade is a long, open, level area, usually next to a river or large body of water, where people may walk. The historical definition of ''esplanade'' was a large, open, level area outside fortress or city walls to provide cle ...

and

marinas A marina (from Spanish language, Spanish , Portuguese language, Portuguese and Italian language, Italian : "related to the sea") is a Dock (maritime), dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats. A marina differs from a ...

along the

. New ferry slips and terminals exclusively for pedestrian use have been built. *

Communipaw Terminal The Central Railroad of New Jersey Terminal, also known as Communipaw Terminal and Jersey City Terminal, was the Central Railroad of New Jersey's waterfront passenger terminal in Jersey City, New Jersey. The terminal was built in 1889, replaci ...

was in operation from 1864 to 1967. It was owned by the

Central Railroad of New Jersey Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...

and also hosted trains of the

Baltimore and Ohio The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was the oldest railroad in the United States and the first steam-operated common carrier. Construction of the line began in 1828, and it operated as B&O from 1830 until 1987, when it was merged into the Chessi ...

and the

Reading Company The Reading Company ( ) was a Philadelphia-headquartered railroad that provided passenger and freight transport in eastern Pennsylvania and neighboring states from 1924 until its acquisition by Conrail in 1976. Commonly called the Reading Railro ...

. The CRRNJ's main ferry ran to pier 11 at Liberty Street. The historic landmark is now a major feature of

Liberty State Park Liberty State Park (LSP) is a park in the U.S. state of New Jersey, located on Upper New York Bay in Jersey City, New Jersey, Jersey City opposite Liberty Island and Ellis Island. The park opened in 1976 to coincide with United States Bicenten ...

and ferry terminal for service to

Ellis Island Ellis Island is an island in New York Harbor, within the U.S. states of New Jersey and New York (state), New York. Owned by the U.S. government, Ellis Island was once the busiest immigrant inspection and processing station in the United State ...

and

Liberty Island Liberty Island is a federally owned island in Upper New York Bay in the northeastern United States. Its most notable feature is the Statue of Liberty (''Liberty Enlightening the World''), a large statue by Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi that was ...

. The terminal is adjacent to the Big Basin of the

Morris Canal The Morris Canal (1829–1924) was a toll road, common carrier Anthracite, anthracite coal canal across North Jersey, northern New Jersey that connected the two industrial canals in Easton, Pennsylvania across the Delaware River from its weste ...

(used to ship

anthracite Anthracite, also known as hard coal and black coal, is a hard, compact variety of coal that has a lustre (mineralogy)#Submetallic lustre, submetallic lustre. It has the highest carbon content, the fewest impurities, and the highest energy densit ...

from the mines of

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

) which entered the harbor at the river's mouth. * Exchange Place station was the location of the first waterfront terminal in 1834, and its larger successor was used until 1961. Regular ferry service from

Paulus Hook Paulus Hook is a community on the Hudson River waterfront in Jersey City, New Jersey. It is located across the river from Manhattan. The name Hook comes from the Dutch word "hoeck", which translates to "point of land." This "point of land" has ...

had begun in the early

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

colonial period. The original station was built by the

New Jersey Railroad The New Jersey Rail Road and Transportation Company was an early railroad company in the state of New Jersey. It was incorporated in 1832 and opened its first line in 1834, making it one of the oldest railroads in North America. It was consolidat ...

to meet the world's first steam ferry service which had been initiated in 1812 by

and Robert Livingston. During the

Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad ( reporting mark PRR), legal name as the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, also known as the "Pennsy," was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At its ...

era in the 20th century the station was called Exchange Place, local nomenclature for the

streetcar A tram (also known as a streetcar or trolley in Canada and the United States) is an urban rail transit in which vehicles, whether individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some include s ...

terminus and

tube station. The main ferry ran to Cortlandt Street. The district is now sometimes known as "

Wall Street West Wall Street West is a name used by real estate developers, city officials, and news media in the United States to call particular streets or places west of Manhattan, New York City that have a high concentration of Wall Street financial compani ...

" due to the concentration of financial concerns and

skyscrapers A skyscraper is a tall continuously habitable building having multiple floors. Most modern sources define skyscrapers as being at least or in height, though there is no universally accepted definition, other than being very tall high-rise bui ...

located there. Today ferry service travels to Battery Park City Ferry Terminal, Pier 11 at

Wall Street Wall Street is a street in the Financial District, Manhattan, Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It runs eight city blocks between Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway in the west and South Street (Manhattan), South Str ...

, and the

. *

Pavonia Terminal Pavonia Terminal was the Erie Railroad terminal station, terminal on the North River (Hudson River), Hudson River located in the Harsimus section of Jersey City, New Jersey. The station opened in 1861 and closed in 1958 when the Erie Railroad ...

operated from 1861 to 1958. The terminal, completed in 1889 by the

Erie Railroad The Erie Railroad was a railroad that operated in the Northeastern United States, originally connecting Pavonia Terminal in Jersey City, New Jersey, with Lake Erie at Dunkirk, New York. The railroad expanded west to Chicago following its 1865 ...

, was at the end of the Long Dock which extended into the partially landfilled

Harsimus Cove Harsimus (also known as Harsimus Cove) is a neighborhood within Downtown Jersey City, Hudson County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The neighborhood stretches from the Harsimus Stem Embankment (the Sixth Street Embankment) on the north to Chr ...

. The Jersey City Terminal was also used by the

New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway The New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway , also referred to as the Susie-Q or the Susquehanna, and formerly the New York, Susquehanna and Western Railroad, is an American Railroad classes#Class II, Class II Rail freight transport, freight r ...

. It was named after the seventeenth century

settlement of Pavonia. Ferry service began in the 1840s. The main

later ran to

Chambers Street Chambers Street may refer to: Streets * Chambers Street, Edinburgh, Scotland * Chambers Street (Manhattan), New York City, U.S. * Chamber Street, once known as Chambers Street, London Borough of Tower Hamlets, England New York City Subway station ...

and 23rd Street. The Erie's Pavonia trains were moved to Hoboken Terminal between 1956 and 1958, and the ferries and terminal abandoned. The terminal and yards have now been developed into the residential and commercial district of

Newport, Jersey City Newport is a master-planned, mixed-use community in Downtown Jersey City, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, consisting of retail, residential, office, and entertainment facilities. The neighborhood is situated on the Hudson Waterfront. Prio ...

. *

Hoboken Terminal Hoboken Terminal is a commuter-oriented intermodal passenger station in Hoboken, Hudson County, New Jersey. One of the New York metropolitan area's major transportation hubs, it is served by eight NJ Transit (NJT) commuter rail lines, an NJ T ...

is the last of the Hudson River terminals still in use and is now operated by

NJ Transit New Jersey Transit Corporation, branded as NJ Transit or NJTransit and often shortened to NJT, is a state-owned public transportation system that serves the U.S. state of New Jersey and portions of the states of New York and Pennsylvania. I ...

. Regular ferry service was started in 1834 by John Stevens. Train service began in 1863 by the

Morris and Essex Railroad The Morris and Essex Railroad was a railroad across northern New Jersey, later part of the Main line (railway), main line of the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad. History The M&E was incorporated January 29, 1835, to build a line from ...

and was taken over by

Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad The Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad, also known as the DL&W or Lackawanna Railroad, was a U.S. Class 1 railroad that connected Buffalo, New York, and Hoboken, New Jersey, and by ferry with New York City, a distance of . The railroad was ...

, which built the terminal in 1908. The DL&W later merged with the Erie to create the

Erie Lackawanna Railway The Erie Lackawanna Railway , known as the Erie Lackawanna Railroad until 1968, was formed from the 1960 merger of the Erie Railroad and the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad. The official motto of the line was "The Friendly Service Route ...

which, after becoming part of

Conrail Conrail , formally the Consolidated Rail Corporation, was the primary Class I railroad in the Northeastern United States between 1976 and 1999. The trade name Conrail is a portmanteau based on the company's legal name. It continues to do busine ...

, operated until the state takeover in the 1970s. The main routes of the Hoboken Ferry ran to Barclay Street,

Christopher Street Christopher Street is a street in the West Village neighborhood of the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is the continuation of 9th Street west of Sixth Avenue. It is most notable for the Stonewall Inn, which is located on Christopher St ...

and 23rd Street; these ferries operated until 1967. Today

ferries travel to the Battery Park City Ferry Terminal, Pier 11 at

and the

. *

Weehawken Terminal Weehawken Terminal was the waterfront intermodal terminal on the North River (Hudson River) in Weehawken, New Jersey for the New York Central Railroad's West Shore Railroad division, whose route traveled along the west shore of the Hudson Rive ...

operated from 1884 to 1959 as the terminus for

West Shore Railroad The West Shore Railroad was a U.S. railway company active in the states of New York and New Jersey between 1885 and 1952. It was incorporated in 1885 to reorganize the New York, West Shore and Buffalo Railway, which had originally been inten ...

division as well as for the

New York, Ontario and Western Railway The New York, Ontario and Western Railway, commonly known as the O&W or NYO&W, was a regional railroad founded in 1868. The last train ran from Norwich, New York, to Middletown, Orange County, New York, Middletown, New York, in 1957, after whi ...

. The extensive Weehawken Yards also handled freight for the

with the

New Jersey Junction Railroad The New Jersey Junction Railroad (NJJ) was part of the New York Central Railroad and ran along the Hudson River in Hudson County, New Jersey, from the West Shore Railroad (NYCRR) yards at Weehawken Terminal south to Jersey City, New Jersey, Jer ...

. The

New York Central Railroad 69th Street Transfer Bridge The 69th Street Transfer Bridge, part of the West Side Line of the New York Central Railroad, was a dock for car floats which allowed the transfer of railroad cars from the rail line to car floats which crossed the Hudson River to the Weeha ...

is now a historic site. The main Weehawken Ferry travelled directly across the river to

42nd Street 42nd Street most commonly refers to: *42nd Street (Manhattan), a major crosstown street in the New York City borough of Manhattan It may also refer to: *42nd Street (film), ''42nd Street'' (film), a 1933 American Warner Bros. musical film with lyri ...

and for a time was part of route of the

Lincoln Highway The Lincoln Highway is one of the first transcontinental highways in the United States and one of the first highways designed expressly for automobiles. Conceived in 1912 by Indiana entrepreneur Carl G. Fisher, and formally dedicated Octob ...

. Other ferries included those to 14th Street and Cortland Street. The original tunnel under

Bergen Hill Bergen Hill refers to the lower Hudson Palisades in New Jersey, where they emerge on Bergen Neck, which in turn is the peninsula between the Hackensack and Hudson Rivers, and their bays. In Hudson County, it reaches a height of 260 feet. Rai ...

is now used by the

Hudson–Bergen Light Rail The Hudson–Bergen Light Rail (HBLR) is a light rail system in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. Owned by New Jersey Transit (NJT) and operated by the 21st Century Rail Corporation, it connects the communities of Bayonne, Jersey City, ...

and contains the

Bergenline Avenue station Bergenline Avenue is a station on the Hudson–Bergen Light Rail (HBLR). The intermodal facility is located on 49th Street between Bergenline Avenue and Kennedy Boulevard in Union City, New Jersey, near its border with West New York and Nor ...

. Ferry service is now provided from

Weehawken Port Imperial Port Imperial is a community centered around an intermodal transit hub on the Weehawken, New Jersey, waterfront of the Hudson River across from Midtown Manhattan, served by New York Waterway ferries and buses, Hudson–Bergen Light Rail, a ...

to the

, Battery Park City Ferry Terminal, and

. * The

terminus in

Shadyside, Edgewater Shadyside is the southernmost neighborhood of Edgewater, New Jersey that overlaps the waterfront of neighboring North Bergen, New Jersey. It likely takes its name from the fact that its position on the west bank of the Hudson River is sometime ...

, was opened in 1894 for the shipment of coal and other products. This led to extensive landfilling and industrial growth including plants of Hess Oil and Chemical,

Lever Brothers Lever Brothers was a British manufacturing company founded in 1885 by two brothers: William Lever, 1st Viscount Leverhulme, William Hesketh Lever, 1st Viscount Leverhulme (1851–1925), and James Darcy Lever (1854–1916). They invested in and su ...

Alcoa Alcoa Corporation (an acronym for "Aluminum Company of America") is an American industrial corporation. It is the world's eighth-largest producer of aluminum. Alcoa conducts operations in 10 countries. Alcoa is a major producer of primary alu ...

, and the

Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational corporation, multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. T ...

. Many workers from Manhattan used the ferry from 125th Street to reach their jobs. The factories of Edgewater have been demolished, the

brownfields Brownfield is previously-developed land that has been abandoned or underused, and which may carry pollution, or a risk of pollution, from industrial use. The specific definition of brownfield land varies and is decided by policy makers and l ...

redeveloped for residential, retail, and recreational uses. The ferry now travels from Edgewater Landing to

Fixed crossings

The last crossing to be built was the south tube of the Lincoln Tunnel in 1957, but in 1962, another deck was added to the George Washington Bridge. Since 2003, various proposals have been made to add a new train line. This includes an extension of the completed

7 Subway Extension The 7 Subway Extension is a subway extension of the New York City Subway's IRT Flushing Line, which is served by the local and express services. The extension stretches southwest from its previous terminus at Times Square, at Seventh Avenu ...

, the canceled

Access to the Region's Core Access to the Region's Core (ARC) was a proposed commuter-rail project to increase passenger service capacity on New Jersey Transit (NJT) between Secaucus Junction in New Jersey and Manhattan in New York City. New infrastructure would have ...

, and the ongoing Gateway Program.

References

External links

A Guide to a Hudson River Park Walk from Battery Park to Riverside Park

Wired New York - Hudson River Piers

{{Authority control Borders of New Jersey Borders of New York (state) Hudson River Piers in New York City Port of New York and New Jersey Redeveloped ports and waterfronts in the United States Rivers of Hudson County, New Jersey Rivers of Manhattan Rivers of New Jersey Rivers of New York (state)