Architectural Design of the Hoboken Ferry Terminal

Architectural Design of the Hoboken Ferry Terminal. .

"The aim of the architect has evidently been to express in his design the metallic character and structural forms of the Ferryhouse. The entire exterior is to be covered with heavy copper. The frieze is in form of a deep girder, supported by the upright latticed column design of the piers. all the moldings and ornaments are of a distinctly metallic character, thin and sharp, the well-known stone forms having been abandoned. Sheet metal as an exterior covering was adopted after an investigation into all other available materials had been made. Anything in the line of masonry or terra cotta was out of the question, both on account of the settlement of the piles in the muddy bottom of the river and the severe shocks which these structures occasionally receive from the ferry boats." , – The Architectural Review, 1904

, The Hoboken Ferry terminal is distinguished in the history of American architecture as a reinforced concrete structure covered entirely in ornamental coppersheeting. Architect Kenneth Murchison conformed the concrete and copper to classical elements and motifs, specifically designing ornament with a hard-edged, linear character., In his design of a monumental building ornamented in the classical tradition, Murchison accorded the Hoboken Terminal an elevated status, while notable deviations from the Beaux Arts partis connected it to its site and historical context. The additive nature of its volumes rather than a more traditional Beaux Arts cross axis, allowed the complex to relate both to the river and to the established street grid and track layout. The allusion to waterfront amusement parks referenced Hoboken's history as a coastal resort., The long, low body of the ferry house, with its pavilion-like bays and multi-pitched roofline was designed in distinct contrast to the high, cubic volume of the railroad terminal. The clock tower that rises above the rooflines anchors the intersection of these two large volumes. By day, the ferry terminal glittered in the sunlight playing off the water's surface, and by night it was virtually ablaze: 1,400 lights were used in five electric signs, with 880 more lights delineating architectural features such as the towers, arches and imposts of the ferry slips, large pediments and cornices., The ferry house's east elevation stretches along the Hudson River waterfront in six great elliptical arched openings that recall the side elevation of a monumental bridge. The heavily ornamented surfaces appear encrusted with classical motifs, yet the design is tightly organized and articulates its structural parts., Murchison located an elegant restaurant at the south end of the ferry house, overlooking the Hudson River with a view of Manhattan, giving it the appearance of a freestanding building. A view of the south elevation of the complex clearly reveals the additive joining of the volumes that enclose several service spaces and circulation routes at this end of the building., The five-bay west elevation of the ferry house, even more festively ornamented than the waterfront side, the north elevation of the train station and the baggage wing surround a large irregularly shaped plaza designed to accommodate pedestrian, vehicular and team traffic.