The History of Jersey City’s Powerhouse Arts District
A manufacturing and railroad powerhouse for over 100 years, Jersey City, NJ, has come a long way from its industrial heyday during the railroad era. Once a gritty town that existed amongst clouds of smoke and haze, there are very few reminders of Jersey City's longtime industrial history that exist today. Still standing, though, against the clean geometric modernity of the luxury buildings and the Powerhouse Arts District Apartments that surround it is the Hudson & Manhattan Railroad Powerhouse.
The Hudson and Manhattan Railroad Powerhouse
Side door to one of the buildings part of the Hudson and Manhattan Railroad Powerhouse complex.
Constructed between 1906 and 1908, the former Hudson and Manhattan Railroad Powerhouse standing at 10-stories and 46,000 sq ft, was the power hub for the subway system between New Jersey and New York. Although the underground railroad was first planned in 1873, its construction was so severely intermittent that it wasn’t until 1907 that the first test train ride which took place between Hoboken, NJ and Morton Street, NYC occurred. Prior to that travelers crossing from the island of Manhattan to the ‘mainland’ were limited to ferry services that shuttled passengers across the Hudson River.
John Oakman of Carrere and Hastings, a graduate of the reputable Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris, was commissioned by relative Walter G. Oakman, president of the Hudson & Manhattan Railroad, to design the Powerhouse. James J. Ferris, for whom one of Jersey City's high schools are named, laid the foundation. Also, part of the project was L.B. Stillwell, whose firm designed the first Niagara Falls power plant.
“The Hudson & Manhattan RR Powerhouse is an industrial age icon that has drawn attention for its architectural and engineering design. Christopher Gray, the architectural history columnist of the New York Times, compares the Romanesque Revival building constructed to ". . . some ancient, partly ruined cathedral--a masterpiece of brickwork."
Considered an architectural and engineering marvel at the time of its creation and one of the country's most technologically advanced power stations, the dark red brick building supported by five-story steel-framed windows and terra cotta tile trim powered the cities Hudson and Manhattan Railroad from its tunnels to its stations.
On February 25, 1908, engineers at the Hudson and Manhattan Railroad Powerhouse received a telegram wire sent by President Theodore Roosevelt. President Roosevelt inaugurated the railroad by pressing a button in his White House office that turned on the electric current in the tunnel and launched the services of the Hudson Tunnel for the first time.
"Revenue service started between Hoboken and 19th Street at midnight on February 26, 1908. On July 19, 1909, service began between Lower Manhattan and Jersey City, through a new set of tunnels located south of the first pair." Port Authority NY and NJ
The decline of the Hudson and Manhattan Railroad Powerhouse happened severly and rapidly. In 1927 it had its busiest year ever with 113,141,729 riders and was closed soon after in 1929 as railways moved to electric power rather than coal and steam power, a result of the Clean Air Act initiative. The building was converted into railroad equipment storage and served as a warehouse for dormant trains for years later. The Hudson & Manhattan Railroad went bankrupt in 1963.
Still seen today are the piles of bricks removed in the dismantling of the Powerhouse Building.
The once iconic building slowly fell into disarray and disrepair, once admired for its brickwork, expansive bay windows, and smokestacks adorned with carved cornices. The nine-story property made of 28-inch walls began to be dismantled brick by brick. The deconstruction of this relic of Jersey City's industrial past inspired the formation of the Jersey City Landmarks Conservancy, who in 1999 protested the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and Jersey City's government for its preservation.
Although listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the Powerhouse building deteriorated. In 2013, the debilitated iconic 200-foot smokestacks were suspected to be a threat to the safety and sustainability of the building. Instability of the roof made access to the smokestacks dangerous, and a 200-foot crane was brought in to lift inspectors for a closer look at the condition of the stacks. Upon a thorough inspection, the conclusion of removing the smokestacks to ensure the state of the building for future use was made.
View of New York City from one of The Lively, one of Powerhouse Arts District new luxury apartment building.
What to expect for the Powerhouse Arts District of Jersey City?
Future plans for the Jersey City Powerhouse as an iconic mixed-use centerpiece for arts, retail, and entertainment in downtown Jersey City with shops, galleries, restaurants, markets, and alternative office space are well on their way. In a neighborhood that is already slated to welcome over 1,400 new residents in the near future, the creation of the Washington Creative Center within one of the abandoned Hudson and Manhattan Railroad Powerhouse buildings will be a huge contribution to the already existing thriving art scene that surrounds the Powerhouse Arts District and Jersey City. A new workspace and rehearsal venue for local nonprofits designed to support and further the surrounding arts community.
While the Powerhouse itself has been dormant for decades, the surrounding neighborhood has reinvented what the Powerhouse Arts District is today.