Battery Maritime Building
Encyclopedia
The Battery Maritime Building is a ferry terminal at 10 South Street at the corner of South
and Whitehall Streets near South Ferry
at the tip of Manhattan. It is used for excursion trips and, since 1956, as the ferry terminal to Governors Island
.
The Beaux-Arts building was built from 1906 to 1909 as the Municipal Ferry Piers, and was used by ferries traveling to 39th Street in Brooklyn
. Designed by the firm Walker and Morris, it used a variety of architectural metals
, including cast iron, rolled steel, and stamped zinc and copper, and the vaults under the porch roof utilize Guastavino tile
s.
The building was originally constructed with a wide central stairway to large upper level waiting room. The upper level had a direct connection to the elevated train station that served it, the Staten Island Ferry Whitehall Terminal
and Lower Manhattan. The terminal had three slips, 5, 6, and 7, its lower level serving as a vehicular loading area for wagons and motor vehicles. A Staten Island Ferry Terminal was constructed at the same time and appeared as a two slip twin. That building was was gutted by fire in 1991 replaced with a interim structure that was replaced in 2009.
The Brooklyn ferry service shut down on March 15, 1938, and the 140,000 sq. ft. building was used by various city agencies. In subsequint years, its original multi-colored appearance was replaced by a paint color intended to emulate the copper patena of the Statue of Liberty.
In 1956, the U.S. Army began use of the terminal to provide service to an Army post, Fort Jay
on Governors Island
. Replacing smaller steam-power ferries with two larger new diesel-electric boats, the Army required larger ferry slips and docks, moving their ferry operation from an open ferry slip located at the Barge Office, west of the Staten Island Ferry Terminal to the Battery Maritime Building. When the United States Coast Guard took over Governors Island from the Army in 1966, they continuted to used the terminal to provide vehicle and passenger service to the island for its 3000 residents and 2000 daily communters until its departure in 1996.
Between 2001 and 2005, in a 36 million dollar renovation, the exterior of the building and its deteriorating wooden piers were restored and its exterior repainted in its original multiple color scheme by Jan Hird Pokorny Architects.
Today, during the summer season, public ferry service to Governors Island continues from the Battery Maritime Building, operated by the Trust for Governors Island, an agency for the City of New York, since 2003.
South Street (Manhattan)
South Street is a street in Lower Manhattan, New York City, located immediately adjacent to the East River.It runs from Whitehall Street near the southern tip of Manhattan to Jackson Street near the Williamsburg Bridge. The Franklin D...
and Whitehall Streets near South Ferry
South Ferry (Manhattan)
South Ferry is at the southern tip of Manhattan Island in New York City and is the embarkation point for ferries to Staten Island and Governors Island....
at the tip of Manhattan. It is used for excursion trips and, since 1956, as the ferry terminal to 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...
.
The Beaux-Arts building was built from 1906 to 1909 as the Municipal Ferry Piers, and was used by ferries traveling to 39th Street in Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
. Designed by the firm Walker and Morris, it used a variety of architectural metals
Architectural metals
Architectural metals used in buildings and structures comprise several distinctive metallic materials. Metals serve a wide variety of uses in the built landscape, including structural features, such as nails and trusses, as well as decorative features, such as doorknobs and cladding. Some metals...
, including cast iron, rolled steel, and stamped zinc and copper, and the vaults under the porch roof utilize Guastavino tile
Guastavino tile
Guastavino tile is the "Tile Arch System" patented in the US in 1885 by Valencian architect and builder Rafael Guastavino...
s.
The building was originally constructed with a wide central stairway to large upper level waiting room. The upper level had a direct connection to the elevated train station that served it, the Staten Island Ferry Whitehall Terminal
Staten Island Ferry Whitehall Terminal
The Staten Island Ferry Whitehall Terminal is the terminal in the South Ferry area of Lower Manhattan used by the Staten Island Ferry, which connects the two island boroughs of Manhattan and Staten Island...
and Lower Manhattan. The terminal had three slips, 5, 6, and 7, its lower level serving as a vehicular loading area for wagons and motor vehicles. A Staten Island Ferry Terminal was constructed at the same time and appeared as a two slip twin. That building was was gutted by fire in 1991 replaced with a interim structure that was replaced in 2009.
The Brooklyn ferry service shut down on March 15, 1938, and the 140,000 sq. ft. building was used by various city agencies. In subsequint years, its original multi-colored appearance was replaced by a paint color intended to emulate the copper patena of the Statue of Liberty.
In 1956, the U.S. Army began use of the terminal to provide service to an Army post, Fort Jay
Fort Jay
Fort Jay is a harbor fortification and the name of the former Army post located on Governors Island in New York Harbor. Fort Jay is the oldest defensive structure on the island, built to defend Upper New York Bay, but has served other purposes...
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...
. Replacing smaller steam-power ferries with two larger new diesel-electric boats, the Army required larger ferry slips and docks, moving their ferry operation from an open ferry slip located at the Barge Office, west of the Staten Island Ferry Terminal to the Battery Maritime Building. When the United States Coast Guard took over Governors Island from the Army in 1966, they continuted to used the terminal to provide vehicle and passenger service to the island for its 3000 residents and 2000 daily communters until its departure in 1996.
Between 2001 and 2005, in a 36 million dollar renovation, the exterior of the building and its deteriorating wooden piers were restored and its exterior repainted in its original multiple color scheme by Jan Hird Pokorny Architects.
Today, during the summer season, public ferry service to Governors Island continues from the Battery Maritime Building, operated by the Trust for Governors Island, an agency for the City of New York, since 2003.
See also
- Battery Park City Ferry TerminalBattery Park City Ferry TerminalThe Battery Park City Ferry Terminal provides slips to ferries, water taxis, and sightseeing boats in the Port of New York and New Jersey. The floating dock is located on the Hudson River and moored at the foot of Vesey Street in Hudson River Park in Battery Park City, Manhattan...
- South FerrySouth Ferry (Manhattan)South Ferry is at the southern tip of Manhattan Island in New York City and is the embarkation point for ferries to Staten Island and Governors Island....
- West Midtown Ferry TerminalWest Midtown Ferry TerminalThe West Midtown Ferry Terminal is a passenger ferry terminal serving ferries along the Hudson River in New York City and northeastern New Jersey. It is located at Piers 78 and 79 in Hudson River Park adjacent to the West Side Highway at West 39th Street in Midtown Manhattan...
- Paulus Hook Ferry Terminal
- Weehawken Port ImperialWeehawken Port ImperialWeehawken Port Imperial is 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, and NJT buses. The district lies under and at the foot of Pershing Road, a...
- Fulton Ferry, BrooklynFulton Ferry, BrooklynFulton Ferry is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is named for a prominent ferry line crossing the East River between Manhattan and Brooklyn, and is also the name of the ferry slip on the Brooklyn side...
- Playing the BuildingPlaying the BuildingPlaying the Building is an art installation by David Byrne, ex singer of Talking Heads, and Färgfabriken, an independent art venue in Stockholm. The concept would later be realized in New York City, in parts of the Battery Maritime Building, and in London in The Roundhouse...