The Intermodal Terminal Complex

The Intermodal Terminal Complex. . , Designed in 1904-1906 for the Lackawanna Railroad by New York City architect Kenneth Murchison with engineers Charles Hurlbut and Lincoln Bush, the intermodal terminal complex opened in February 1907. The main buildings included the combined Railroad Terminal and Ferry Terminal, and the Immigrant/Pullman Building. The complex integrated trolley service, and later, bus and PATH service., In 1904 Murchison and Hurlbut estimated that about 100,000 passengers were carried by the three ferry lines each day. Just under half of these were also railway passengers; the other half traveled on foot or by trolley lines. Murchison's solution made the railroad station and the ferry house two distinct, self-sufficient components, each with a separate entry at the Public Plaza, and linked by internal circulation arteries. The complex's angled plan prevented congestion and separated the flow of people progressing between the street, ferries, trains and trolleys., Because the Ferry House served three separate lines , for Barclay, Christopher, and Twenty-Third Streets in Manhattan , there were several entrances from the Plaza, including one for each ferry line and one main entrance to the Ticket Lobby and the boat-shaped Ferry Waiting Room. beyond the entrance area, the Team Concourse extended the length of the Ferry House on the first floor and linked the six lower-deck ferry slips (two for each ferry line). The spacious and elaborately finished Ferry Concourse was located on the second floor., The main block of the train station housed the grand double-height Main Waiting Room, with doors opening directly onto the Train Concourse and the Train Shed beyond. Opposite the train doors on the west wall, a marble stairway led to the Ferry Concourse; the vestibule beneath the stair provided access to the Team Concourse. The Main Waiting Room and the Ferry Concourse were planned as "ample waiting room" even when ferry boats were delayed; up to 20,000 people could congregate in the terminal at one time., The Immigrant/Pullman Building at the south end of the complex housed a station for immigrants transferring from ferries from Ellis Island to trains which would take them to new homes to the north and west, as well as a depot for the supply of Pullman dining cars. The freestanding building, located purposefully away from the main complex at the head of a separate canal, represented the complete segregation of immigrants from other passengers. A separate Immigrant Track served the one-story Immigrant Station on the east side of the building, and a service driveway provided access to the two-story Pullman depot on the west side., The Restaurant at the southeast corner of the Ferry House was the most lavishly ornamented space in the terminal, finished in rare woods, bronze, gilt, and gleaming mirrors, with white linen on the tables and attentive waiters." (John Perry, American Ferryboats).