Decline and Rebirth of the Hoboken Ferry Terminal

Decline and Rebirth of the Hoboken Ferry Terminal. . , Hoboken Ferry Terminal had not been in use since November 27, 1967 when the ferry Elmira embarked for the last trip across the Hudson River. As a result, the entire building fell into serious disrepair. Over time, much of the unique beaux arts inspired ornate copper cladding on the exterior had fallen off the building into the river. The wooden piles that support the structure, entirely over water, were rotting. The Team Concourse, the ground floor level from which horse-pulled wagons originally embarked onto ferries, exhibited spalling concrete and rusting structural steel, metal wall cladding and windows. River water splashed up into the space through holes in the floor. Deteriorated remnants of the historic gangways and transfer bridges hung precariously over the water., New Jersey Transit, with a team assembled by STV, Inc. including Beyer Blinder Belle Architects, rehabilitated the ferry terminal in three phases so that ferry service could operate out of the historic building once again. Phase One of the project, completed in 2005, repaired and replaced rotting substructure. Phase Two work, completed in 2008, included raising a portion of the Team Concourse floor by three feet to avoid the periodic flooding of the Hudson River. The highly ornate copper clad east and south exterior facades of the Ferry Terminal were repaired and/or reclad in copper sheathing., The design team's strategy was to restore the exterior of the building as faithfully as possible to its original design intent. This meant saving as much original fabric as was feasible. Where this was not possible, missing or ruined elements were replicated to match the originals., On the east facade, restoration included re-cladding and the replication of copper casement windows. Belvederes and ornate cast iron guardrails long missing from the roofline of the building were replicated. Fiber optic lighting that replicated the original historic lighting scheme now accentuates the formal articulation of facade elements, especially at the arches of the ferry slips. The Erie Lackawanna sign at the top of the building has been relit with LED strips that replicate the look of the original neon tubes., The historic clocktower, removed from the building in the 1950's because of structural deterioration and loss of copper cladding was replicated. The tower was prefabricated in a shop by a company in Kentucky, shipped to the site and then assembled in the plaza and lifted into place by crane. Like the Ferry Terminal building, the clocktower is lit by hundreds of fiber optic bulbs to emulate the original incandescent lighting., The final phase of the work, completed in 2011, restored ferry service to the historic building. The scope of work included the design of infrastructure including gangways, ferry barges, and steel and glass screen system and ferry operations support spaces. The design team had the unique challenge of preserving the historic character of this significant historic building while incorporating the highly specialized infrastructure and operational needs of contemporary ferry services.