Chelsea Piers
The Chelsea Piers are jetties on the western shore of Manhattan in the district of Chelsea in New York City . The piers were designed and built by the architectural firm Warren and Wetmore , which also designed the Grand Central Terminal . The Chelsea Piers originally comprised 9 piers with a length between 116 meters and 275 meters, each 41 meters apart and partly connected to one another by a head building on the street side. Construction of the piers began in 1902 and opened in 1910. Today, Piers 59, 60 and 61 are home to the Chelsea Piers Sports & Entertainment Complex , the city's largest training and sports center for all kinds of sports.
history
The construction of the piers, which were to provide a new port in New York for the ever larger passenger ships , began in 1902. The surrounding area was shabby and unattractive and should be upgraded with the construction of the piers. The entire complex of nine piers stretched between 12th and 23rd Streets. During the planning, the problem arose that the US Army controlled the location and size of piers in New York. This did not want any piers in the so-called North River, the southernmost part of the Hudson River, which protruded further into the river than the existing ones. The shipping lines, on the other hand, did not want any new piers far north of 23rd Street, as the transport infrastructure was already in place on 23rd Street. To solve this problem, the city bought land on the waterfront and dredged the docks further inland to a depth of 13 meters. In this way, the promenade was moved inland over a length of about 1.2 kilometers.
As early as 1907, before the actual opening, the luxury liners RMS Lusitania and RMS Mauretania moored here. The construction was finally completed in 1910, the RMS Oceanic was the ship that inaugurated the piers on February 11, 1910. In front of the actual piers there were handling buildings with granite facades and large entrance portals spanned by arches.
With the new ships of the White Star Line , RMS Olympic and RMS Titanic , which were significantly larger than the previous ones, the problems with the US Navy began again, which still did not want to allow the previous pier length to be changed. As a compromise, the government finally allowed a temporary extension of the piers, although this was not allowed to obstruct the course of the river.
Pier 59 was operated by the White Star Line and was the destination of the RMS Titanic on its maiden voyage in 1912. After the rescue operation, including by the RMS Carpathia , it first moored at Pier 59 to unload the Titanic's lifeboats. She then moored at Pier 54, which was operated by the Cunard Line . This is where the survivors of the Titanic disembarked.
On May 1, 1915, the RMS Lusitania left Pier 54 with the destination Liverpool . On May 7, she sank off Ireland on her Atlantic crossing, hit by German torpedoes. Around 1200 people were killed. In 1932 a fire destroyed parts of piers 53-57. After the fire, the piers were rebuilt, although some of the original heavy decorations and pediments were not replaced.
During the Second World War, the piers were used to embark troops to fight in Europe. After the war, passenger ships lost their importance as a means of transport. The piers were used to unload cargo ships until 1960. With the advent of containers, they also lost their importance for freight transport, as the logistics of a container port could not be set up here on the Manhattan waterfront . During the 1970s and 1980s, some of the Chelsea Piers that were still owned by the New York State Department of Transportation , including Pier 54, served as a parking garage, towing yard, garbage disposal company workshop, or warehouse. In the 1980s, the New York City Landmark Commission refused to recognize the building on Pier 54 as a landmark and not listed it. Most of the piers fell into disrepair in the following years, so that by 1990 most of the structures on the piers had been demolished. What remained were Pier 54 and the front building of Pier 53. Although there were always plans to use Pier 54, for example as a maritime museum. Ultimately, the last remaining building on the piers, which was in poor condition but was still completely intact, was also demolished in July 1992. Today only the steel entrance area with its large archway with the lettering Cunard Line White Star Line is preserved.
Todays use
The Chelsea Piers Sports & Entertainment Complex , a private sports and fitness facility , now includes Piers 59, 60 and 61 between 17th and 23rd Streets. In 1994 the piers were sold, and then the sports park was built for about 100 million US dollars . The complex includes, among other things, an ice rink, a swimming pool, various sports fields for basketball, volleyball, a wellness area and an area for teeing off golf balls ( driving range ), which takes up almost the entire pier 59. The shape of the buildings on Pier 60 and 61 is reminiscent of the original piers when viewed from the Hudson River. The Chelsea Brewing Company , the only brewery in Manhattan, and a marina for around 60 boats are still on Pier 59 .
The archway and the remaining Pier 54 are now part of the Hudson River Park , there is a skate park on the pier and the 240 by 26 meter asphalt open space is used for larger events such as open-air concerts.
Of Piers 55 and 56 and Pier 58, only clearly visible pillar fields in the Hudson River are left today.
Some of the US television series Law & Order and Criminal Intent were filmed in the studios on Chelsea Piers. On September 14, 2004, a street leading to Pier 62 was even renamed the Law & Order Way .
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d Exploring New York Cits's Titanic Memorials
- ↑ Location North River
- ↑ a b History of the Piers
- ↑ New York Harbor Park
- ↑ Chelsea Piers Sports & Entertainment
- ↑ Hudson River Park, Pier 54 ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Commissioner Oliver presents Law & Order Way ( Memento of the original from October 24, 2004 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
Web link
Coordinates: 40 ° 44 ′ 50 ″ N , 74 ° 0 ′ 35 ″ W.