I am sure most folks know that Manhattan has been expanded outward over the years but did you know that the west side was purposely re-dug and contracted to accommodate the berthing of huge ocean liners?
I just finished this interesting book and learned a lot!
Waterfront Manhattan: From Henry Hudson to the High Line
Yep - There once was a 13th Avenue!
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(from the book) |
The Chelsea Piers
"For the next 50 years, the Chelsea Piers served the needs of the New York port: first, as the city's premier passenger ship terminal; then as an embarkation point for soldiers departing for the battlefields of World Wars I and II; and finally, during the late 1950s and early 1960s, as a cargo terminal.After that, the Chelsea Piers, like much of Manhattan's waterfront, became neglected maritime relics, made obsolete by the jet plane that whisked passengers across the Atlantic and the large container ships that required dock facilities and truck linkages that Manhattan could never provide.Chelsea Piers were designed by the architectural firm of Warren and Wetmore, which was also designing Grand Central Terminal at the same time. The Chelsea Piers replaced a hodgepodge of run-down waterfront structures with a magnificent row of grand buildings embellished with pink granite facades." Source