Exchange Place (PRR station)
Encyclopedia
Intermodal passenger transport
Intermodal passenger transport involves more than one mode of transport of passengers. Some modes of transportation have always been intermodal; for example, most major airports have extensive facilities for automobile parking and have good rail or bus connections to the cities nearby. Urban bus...
passenger terminal for the Pennsylvania Railroad
Pennsylvania Railroad
The Pennsylvania Railroad was an American Class I railroad, founded in 1846. Commonly referred to as the "Pennsy", the PRR was headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania....
's (PRR) vast holdings on the Hudson River and Upper New York Bay
Upper New York Bay
Upper New York Bay, or Upper Bay, is the traditional heart of the Port of New York and New Jersey, and often called New York Harbor. It is enclosed by the New York City boroughs of Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Staten Island and the Hudson County, New Jersey municipalities of Jersey City and Bayonne.It...
in Jersey City, New Jersey
Jersey City, New Jersey
Jersey City is the seat of Hudson County, New Jersey, United States.Part of the New York metropolitan area, Jersey City lies between the Hudson River and Upper New York Bay across from Lower Manhattan and the Hackensack River and Newark Bay...
. By the 1920s the station was called Exchange Place in response to local nomenclature
Nomenclature
Nomenclature is a term that applies to either a list of names or terms, or to the system of principles, procedures and terms related to naming - which is the assigning of a word or phrase to a particular object or property...
. The rail terminal and its ferry slip
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....
s were the main New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
station for the railroad until the opening in 1910 of New York Penn Station
Pennsylvania Station (New York City)
Pennsylvania Station—commonly known as Penn Station—is the major intercity train station and a major commuter rail hub in New York City. It is one of the busiest rail stations in the world, and a hub for inbound and outbound railroad traffic in New York City. The New York City Subway system also...
, made possible by the construction of the North River Tunnels. The terminal was located on Paulus Hook, which in 1812 became the landing of the first steam
Steam engine
A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid.Steam engines are external combustion engines, where the working fluid is separate from the combustion products. Non-combustion heat sources such as solar power, nuclear power or geothermal energy may be...
ferry
Ferry
A ferry is a form of transportation, usually a boat, but sometimes a ship, used to carry primarily passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo as well, across a body of water. Most ferries operate on regular, frequent, return services...
service in the world, and to which rail service began in 1834. Train service to the station ended in November 1961 and demolition of the building complex was completed in 1963.
History
Ferry service between Paulus Hook and ManhattanManhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
began in 1812, the first steam ferry service in the world. The New Jersey Rail Road and Transportation Company opened a rail line from Paulus Hook, then part of the newly incorporated City of Jersey
Jersey City, New Jersey
Jersey City is the seat of Hudson County, New Jersey, United States.Part of the New York metropolitan area, Jersey City lies between the Hudson River and Upper New York Bay across from Lower Manhattan and the Hackensack River and Newark Bay...
, west to Newark in 1834. The PRR acquired the railroad in 1871 and replaced the terminal in 1876 and yet again in 1888-1892. Passengers could move directly between the trains and ferries without going outside. The railroad referred to the location simply as "Jersey City," and if necessary to distinguish it from other railroads' terminals, as the Pennsylvania station.
In the 1870s the PRR began exploring ways to improve rail access between New Jersey and New York (see New York Tunnel Extension). A number of route realignments produced a straighter track, with the final realignment, a new passenger line from Harrison
Harrison, New Jersey
Harrison is a town in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the town's population was 13,620. The town is a suburb of the nearby city of Newark, New Jersey.-Geography:Harrison is located at ....
to east of the new bridge (now the PATH Lift Bridge
PATH Lift Bridge
The PATH Lift is a lift bridge carrying the Port Authority Trans-Hudson rapid transit line across the Hackensack River between Kearny and Jersey City, New Jersey.-History:...
) over the Hackensack River
Hackensack River
The Hackensack River is a river, approximately 45 miles long, in the U.S. states of New York and New Jersey, emptying into Newark Bay, a back chamber of New York Harbor. The watershed of the river includes part of the suburban area outside New York City just west of the lower Hudson River,...
, opening in 1900. (The old freight line still exists as part of the Passaic and Harsimus Line
Passaic and Harsimus Line
Conrail's Passaic and Harsimus Line serves freight in northeastern New Jersey, as an alternate to the mainly passenger Northeast Corridor. It takes trains from the Northeast Corridor and Lehigh Line near Newark Liberty International Airport northeast and east into Jersey City, New Jersey, serving...
.)
The 1910 opening of the North River Tunnels under the Hudson River
Hudson River
The Hudson is a river that flows from north to south through eastern New York. The highest official source is at Lake Tear of the Clouds, on the slopes of Mount Marcy in the Adirondack Mountains. The river itself officially begins in Henderson Lake in Newcomb, New York...
led to a substantial reduction in PRR traffic at Exchange Place. On October 1, 1911 the Hudson and Manhattan Railroad, a rapid transit
Rapid transit
A rapid transit, underground, subway, elevated railway, metro or metropolitan railway system is an electric passenger railway in an urban area with a high capacity and frequency, and grade separation from other traffic. Rapid transit systems are typically located either in underground tunnels or on...
system (now called Port Authority Trans Hudson or PATH), began operating over the PRR line west of Waldo Yard, connecting with the new Manhattan Transfer
Manhattan Transfer (PRR station)
Manhattan Transfer was a passenger station in Harrison, New Jersey, east of Newark, 8.8 miles west of New York Penn Station on the Pennsylvania Railroad main line, now Amtrak's Northeast Corridor...
station at Harrison. The Lehigh Valley Railroad
Lehigh Valley Railroad
The Lehigh Valley Railroad was one of a number of railroads built in the northeastern United States primarily to haul anthracite coal.It was authorized April 21, 1846 in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and incorporated September 20, 1847 as the Delaware, Lehigh, Schuylkill and Susquehanna Railroad...
, which had operated its Black Diamond train service from Buffalo, New York
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
since 1896, ended service to Exchange Place in 1913. Ferry service at Exchange Place ended in 1949. The last PRR passenger train used the branch on November 17, 1961. PATH continues to use the line through Bergen Hill
Bergen Hill
Bergen Hill refers to the lower Hudson Palisades in New Jersey, USA, where they emerge on Bergen Neck, which in turn is the peninsula between the Hackensack and Hudson River, and their bays. In Hudson County, it reaches a height of 260 feet.-Rail:...
to the Journal Square Transporation Center and onward to Newark Penn Station.
The Exchange Place terminal fell into gradual disuse. The last of the buildings of the complex, along with the elevated
Elevated railway
An elevated railway is a form of rapid transit railway with the tracks built above street level on some form of viaduct or other steel or concrete structure. The railway concerned may be constructed according to the standard gauge, narrow gauge, light rail, monorail or suspension railway system...
portion of the rail line, were demolished in 1963. Part of the of the former terminal complex is now the PATH system's Exchange Place Station
Exchange Place (PATH station)
The Exchange Place PATH station, opened on July 19, 1909, is located at Exchange Place in Jersey City, New Jersey, adjacent to the Hudson River at Paulus Hook. The station serves the Goldman Sachs Tower and other buildings in this area, also sometimes referred to as "Wall Street West".The station...
and the Harborside Financial Center
Harborside Financial Center
The Harborside Financial Center is an office complex in the Exchange Place district of Jersey City, New Jersey located on the Hudson Waterfront. It contains the Harborside Plazas 2 and 3, Harborside Plaza 1, Harborside Plaza 4A, Harborside Plaza 10, and the Harborside Plaza 5...
, while the ferry slips have been replaced with J. Owen Grundy
J. Owen Grundy
J. Owen Grundy was a native of Jersey City, New Jersey and was until his death its official historian and chairman of the city's Municipal Historic Districts Commission...
Waterfront Park. Hudson-Bergen Light Rail
Hudson-Bergen Light Rail
The Hudson–Bergen Light Rail is a light rail system in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. Owned by New Jersey Transit and operated by the 21st Century Rail Corporation, it connects the communities of Bayonne, Jersey City, Hoboken, Weehawken, Union City , and North Bergen.The system began...
maintains two stations in the district while ferries are now served by the Paulus Hook Ferry Terminal.
- See also Exchange Place as transporation hub
See also
- Exchange Place (Jersey City)
- Exchange Place (HBLR station)Exchange Place (HBLR station)Exchange Place is a station on the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail located at Hudson Street, between York and Montgomery Streets, in Jersey City, New Jersey....
(Hudson-Bergen Light Rail) - Greenville Yard (Port Jersey)
- Harsimus Stem EmbankmentHarsimus Stem EmbankmentThe Harsimus Stem Embankment, also called Sixth Street Embankment, is a half-mile-long historic railroad embankment, now abandoned and largely overgrown with foliage, in the heart of Jersey City's historic downtown...
- List of ferries across the Hudson River to New York City
- Railroad terminals serving New York City
- Timeline of Jersey City area railroadsTimeline of Jersey City area railroadsFor the purposes of this article, the Jersey City area goes north to Edgewater , south to Bayonne, and includes Kearny Junction and Harrison but not Newark...
External links
- Exchange Place - "Jersey City: Past and Present" (New Jersey City UniversityNew Jersey City UniversityNew Jersey City University is a public university in Jersey City, New Jersey, USA. It is a member of the New Jersey Association of State Colleges and Universities....
) - Photo of depot as seen from the Hudson River
- Jersey City Landmarks Committee: Harsimus Branch Embankment and Pennsylvania Main Stem Elevated
- Photo of Exchange Place facing terminal and ferry slips, c. 1905
- PRR system map 1899
- Travellers description of cut 1800s
