Pier 57: Innovative WWII Concept 
Heralded New Age in Pier Design

On Sunday September 29, 1947 a fire swept through Pier 57. Flames soared six stories high. Huge clouds of smoke darkened the skies over the Chelsea and West Village waterfront.

 

Six fire boats plus eighty fire and emergency vehicles responded to this eight-alarm blaze at Pier 57 between 15 and 16th streets. Hundreds of firemen worked double shifts to contain the fire, which at one point threatened two adjacent piers.

In the end the blaze injured over 153 people. It took 15 hours to extinguish the last smoldering ashes. Over 300 feet of the 800-foot pier crumbled into the river and with it a bit of waterfront’s mystique. Pier 57 served the great trans Atlantic ships of the French Line, including the luxurious Art Deco masterpieces Lafayette and Ile de France.

Fire Commissioner Frank J. Quayle ruled the blaze “suspicious but undoubtedly due to carelessness.” The fire started in creosote piles in oil-covered water underneath the pier about sixty feet from its western or river end, where two tugs worked.

Built by the city in 1907 at a cost of $1,200,000 the Grace Line leased it in 1939 for twenty years. The worst fire in the river’s history completely destroyed it, a loss of $5 million.

Within months the Department of Marine and Aviation planned to replace it with a fire and marine borer proof concrete and steel structure with a basement. No pier had ever had underwater storage before. This innovative concept, designed by noted architect and civil engineer Emil Praeger, consisted of three watertight concrete boxes which would support it instead of wood piles, the standard material used. The pier would rest on two boxes or pontoons, set end-to-end, measuring roughly 360 feet long, 82 feet wide and weighing 27,000 tons. The two boxes would connect to the third caisson, which at 19,000 tons and almost equal size supported the bulkhead and created a T-shape.

Praeger designed the rectangular floating breakwaters used by the Allies for the D-Day invasion in World War II. Years later Praeger also designed the Tappan Zee Bridge, the Nebraska State Capitol, Shea and LA Dodger Stadiums. He also renovated the Capitol in Washington.

Due to its size construction took place in an abandoned clay quarry turned lake near Haverstraw, New York about 38 miles north of the city along the Hudson.

Construction began August 1950. Two years later six tugboats, under the supervision of the Moran Towing Corporation, whose boats had worked the Hudson waters for generations, floated the first box down river. At 57 engineers filled it with water and sunk it, the first commercial effort employing the “float and sink” principle used by the Allies at Normandy. The two other boxes arrived a month later.

In December 1954 the new pier opened. At $12 million it far exceeded original estimates. It doubled the size of the old one and provided additional open space on the roof and basement storage for perishable goods. It also directed passenger traffic to unload in a third basement by the bulkhead where Passengers then proceeded to a huge receiving hall on the second level by elevators. Cargo trucks used a separate ramp to the second level.

Although its innovative design drew praise from the maritime and engineering world success proved short-lived. In less than ten years passenger travel and cargo shipping underwent massive change. Jet planes cut travel to Europe from days to hours and siphoned away business. Container shipping and the need for large tracts of land made the west side piers obsolete. In 1960 W.R. Grace Company sold its operations.

For the past four decades the MTA has used it for bus parking and a maintenance garage. During the Republican National convention in 2004 it became a detention center for protesters.

Pier 57, which is listed on the State and National Registers of Historical Places, sits in the middle of the Hudson River Park. It once symbolized elegance. It is now an eyesore and obstacle for thousands of walkers, bikers and joggers who use the park daily. On a negative note it became a detention center for protesters during the Republican National convention in 2004.

A makeover is in the works. Plans call for developing several acres and levels of public space for cultural and recreational uses, plus a public market and rooftop park. This summer the Hudson River Park Trust, the keeper of the Hudson River Park, accepted public comments for its redevelopment project. Old shipping containers are the special feature this time around.

For more information check the Hudson River Park Trust’s website .

Hudson River Park's Pier 66A: HISTORICAL LINK TO WATERFRONT'S PAST

Abandoned almost four decades ago this rectangular structure sat locked in the waters off 26th street, a stark reminder of a time when commerce dominated the Hudson River waterfront. Complete with train tracks and supported on both sides by ten-foot high X- beams this 50 foot long anomaly, with thick decaying weather-beaten wooden piles and rusted steal sidings, pops up out of the water angled towards the esplanade like a sea-monster ready to snatch unsuspecting joggers and walkers.

But for advocates of the new Hudson River Park, the 26th Street railroad transfer bridge had a significant role in the port's commercial history, one important enough to preserve and incorporate into the plans for the park.

In stepped Noreen Doyle and Mike Bradley of the Hudson River Park Conservancy, the predecessor of the Hudson River park Trust, and Ed Kirkland, longtime Chelsea resident, preservationist and member of Community Board 4 who recognized the bridge’s historical importance and took action. About ten years ago they spearheaded a move to refurbish the bridge and secured a $650,000 federal grant. In December 2001 the bridge returned to the waters off 26th street a beneficiary of three quarter of million dollars worth of repairs at a Staten Island shipyard.

"When I first moved to New York I remember how fascinated I was watching train cars pulled off the barge and into the Starrett-Lehigh Building where the Lehigh Valley Railroad used the ground floor as a huge enclosed freight yard," Kirkland said.

The 26th transfer bridge and car float, once owned by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
served as a terminus for barges carrying freight cars across the Hudson until 1973. Barges departed from B & O's mainland terminal in Jersey City and also from St. George, Staten Island to 26th Street.

In 1890 B & O purchased a small portion of land on 24th to 26th streets, across Twelfth Avenue from the river and built a small freight yard, now partly occupied by a U.S Postal Maintenance Facility and NYC Sanitation Garage. It also gave the railroad a presence in New York City.

Barges carrying rail cars moved across the river assisted by tugboats. The tugs helped line the barges up with the transfer bridge. This required pinpoint accuracy. The tugs often needed several attempts to connect the barge with the bridge. Tide levels and strong currents often hampered this coupling since the transfer bridge sat on a pontoon, a flotation-type structure similar to a large flat-bottomed boat or barge. Workers then had the dangerous job of manually fastening the two structures together by hammering pins into connecting holes.

Railroad tracks ran across Twelfth Avenue extending from the transfer bridge to the B & O freight yard. A diesel engine usually pulled an empty freight car and greeted the barge at the bridge. Then the diesel engine backed the empty freight car down the ramp that was attached to the bridge. Workers then hooked the empty car with the lead car on the barge. The diesel engine pulled the freight cars off the barge and across the street to the freight yard.

Up until the 1950 barges ferried over 100,000 rail cars across New York harbor. New York Central had probably the largest operation on the west side. They had transfer stations and yards at 30th, 60th and 130th Streets. The railroad even had 13 miles of track in Manhattan. This included the elevated rail line High Line (now the upscale High Line Park) that ran parallel to Tenth Avenue in Chelsea. The car float link, also known as the New York Cross Harbor Railroad provided Manhattan with a vital link with the rest of North America. It eliminated the need for trains to travel hours north of the city to reach a train bridge and cross the Hudson.

Today only one rail-freight float remains in the city. It transports almost several thousand rail cars between Jersey City and Sunset Park Brooklyn. Hauling freight by rail declined with the push toward automobiles and tractor-trailer. Interest in shuttling freight by train has increased as a way of easing vehicular traffic and reducing air pollution.

Renovations to the rail bridge, at pier 66A, included pedestrian walkways. The bridge connects to a former car float barge, built in 1946 for the Erie Lackawanna Railroad. The barge used to carry rail cars across the Hudson and is now home the historic lightship Frying Pan and the John J. Harvey fireboat. Built in 1931 the Harvey is considered one of the most powerful fireboats in the history of the NY Fire Department and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Maritime Bar & Grill and an old Erie Lackawanna caboose are also on the barge.

The transfer bridge is adjacent to Pier 66 and boathouse home to NY River Sports which sponsors Hudson River Community Sailing; New York Kayak Polo; Manhattan Kayak and New York Outrigger

About the bridge Kirkland said "Granted it looks strange but it is an impressive structure that allows us to understand how the waterfront worked and offers us a wonderful insight in its history in connection with the river."

Photo by Rudi Papiri

Future of Urban Farming: GROWING VEGETABLES ON THE HUDSON AND YOUR ROOF

Imagine going to the roof of your apartment or office building to pick out fresh vegetables instead of trekking to Whole Foods, Fairway or the nearest farmers market. If this idea sounds far-fetched then you must visit the Science Barge docked at the newly built Pier 84 in Hudson River Park and see urban sustainable farming first-hand.

In a 1300 square foot greenhouse built on the barge Ted Caplow and his small, dedicated staff of environmental professionals grow enough cucumbers, bell peppers, tomatoes, herbs, swish chard and lettuce to feed 25 people. They use no pesticides or fertilizers to pollute the environment. Rainwater and Hudson river water is purified and re-circulated. In fact the Barge emits no carbon dioxide emissions while growing more food on less space, using much less water and no soil. A mix of coconut husks and rice hulls are used instead of soil.

Caplow, who has a PH.D in environmental engineering founded New York Sun Works in 2004, a nonprofit organization whose mission is promoting sustainability through hydroponics agriculture, water recycling and renewable energy.

The Science Barge arrived in May 2007 and held its opening ceremony on Pier 84, at 44th Street and 12th Avenue. Caplow said the food we buy travels a long way to reach us. It takes a lot of energy and fuel to grow and transport food to urban markets where almost 80 percent of people live worldwide.

"We buy vegetables from California and Mexico, fruit from Florida, beef from Colorado or Argentina. Even bottled water comes from Fujii," Caplow said. "Food has a large environmental impact. Agriculture consumes the majority of the world's fresh water. Crop fertilizers, pesticides and other wastes pollute our streams. These pollutants eventually wind up in the sea. This has created dead zones in the Gulf of Mexico, the Chesapeake Bay and in the Long Island Sound."
According to Caplow in twenty-five years the city's population will expand by one million. Today in order to feed metro New York's 20 million people we need an area the size of Wyoming.

Speaking before a crowd of a few hundred people which included State Assemblyman Tom Duane, economist Dr. Jeffrey Sachs, Director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University and Connie Fishman, President of the Hudson River Park Trust all of whom spoke at the ceremony, Caplow said "We place increasingly huge demands on the countryside for food, water and power. If we do nothing the landscape will struggle to keep up with these demands. We risk blackouts, water and even food shortages."

Since land in the city is scarce and costly Caplow envisions urban farming moving up above the urban landscape. The barge is a start. Sustainable farming is necessary if we are to meet the challenges of feeding a growing population without further destroying the environment.

"There is enough existing rooftop space in New York City to grow enough fresh vegetables for the entire population," Caplow said.

The greenhouse is on a refurbished 60 year-old barge. There is also an outdoor growing area and classroom space. The program also demonstrates three renewable energy technologies. Solar panels, installed on a passive tracker follow the sun across the sky and catches energy from the sun’s rays which generates electricity. Five-wind turbines also generate power. Biofuels and waste vegetable oil runs the generator.

For the past three years thousands of school children, tourists and those interested in sustainable farming have toured The Science Barge at Pier 84, Riverside Park at West 72nd Street, Stuyvesant Cove Park at East 23rd Street and other locations.

The Science Barge is now in Yonkers, New York. Groundwork Hudson Valley (GHV) runs and organizes programming. For information about tours visit the Groundwork Hudson Valley website.

Photo by Rudi Papiri

FLOATING THE APPLE RETURNS HOME TO PIER 84

After a five-year hiatus Floating the Apple is back on Pier 84.
This time home is not old cargo containers on a crumbling pier. Home is a large boathouse on a new Pier 84, the gem of the Hudson River Park,
a network of pier parks stretching from Battery Park City to 59th Street.

FTA, a non-profit co-founded by Mike Davis, has called Pier 84, located at 44th Street and 12th Avenue between the Circle Line
and Intrepid Museum http://www.intrepidmuseum.org/ home from since 1992.

Unlike the volatile currents of the Hudson, FTA's mission has remained steady: promote community boating and access to the Hudson which Davis calls "our greatest open space."

FTA has succeeded on both counts. FTA has built 20 boats. In the past FTA used loaned storefronts on busy midtown streets as workshops. The new building, an 80 by 40 feet space, is a workshop and storage facility. Davis hopes to establish a maritime library.

Students from the Navy Jr. ROTC program at Graphic Arts High School on West 49th Street build and repair boats while earning school credits. They learn carpentry, boat design, maritime history and ecological science and rowing skills. City-As-School had a similar program with FTA, at the Pier 40 boathouse near Houston Street.

"Several generations of people have had no connection to this magnificent river. We live on an island but we were landlocked," Davis said. "We couldn't even see the water. Huge pier sheds blocked our view.”

Davis speaks with a deep, firm voice. Medium build, with a round, rugged, sea-tanned face with long bushy white eyebrows and a high forehead, Davis resembles a New England ship captain.
"When you are on the river you deal nature's realm, wind, current and weather. You don't quibble with the rules," he said.
Anthony Geathers, a 17-year-old student at Graphic Arts, said "I learn teamwork, responsibility and how to handle a boat. It's exciting.”

Davis, an anthropologist, got his idea for community boating after visiting Istanbul with the University of Chicago. Rowing on the Bosporus, a narrow strait that separates Istanbul's European and Asian sections, is extremely popular. "This was one of my great experiences. Istanbul and New York were built to be seen from the water," he said.

Returning home he researched local history and discovered New York had its own rowing tradition. Used for commerce, transportation, sport and policing Whitehalls populated the both the city's waters.

Whitehalls www.whitehallrow.com/legacy_html/history.php are built for speed, yet sturdy enough to handle wakes and strong currents. They are also rigged for sailing.
Maritime historians believe the boat's originated in England and came here in the early 1800's. Whitehall boatman got their name from the ferry station near the fireboat pier. Renowned for their exploits the boatmen operated from a cove built by the city to thank them for rescuing passengers from a ferryboat fire. People used the boat to go to work.

Whitehalls plowed the Hudson until the end of World to protect the port against thieves and saboteurs. The boat fueled competitive racing. On a cold December day in 1824 over 50,000 people, crammed the Hudson waterfront to watch the Whitehall boatmen defeat the legendary Thames men from England.

This summer FTA offered free rowing Thursday through Sunday from 3 p.m. to sunset. In late August FTA staged its annual evacuation from Brooklyn, a re-enactment of the dramatic rescue of 9,000 men of George Washington's Revolutionary army. Fall events are planned.

"We welcome all who want to learn about boating and the river. I want to get as many people out on the water as possible." Davis said.
“But free community boating can only succeed with a strong core of volunteers and we need help”.

Editor’s Note: Mike Davis died November 2, 2008.
*PHOTO by Merecedes Fanchin: Mike Davis and students rowing on the Hudson off Pier 40 in lower Manhattan