Staten Island Ferry Whitehall Terminal

The Whitehall Terminal is a ferry terminal in the South Ferry section of Lower Manhattan, New York City. It is located at the corner of South Street and Whitehall Street. This terminal is used by the Staten Island Ferry, which connects the boroughs of Manhattan and Staten Island. The other terminal for the ferry is St. George Terminal on Staten Island.

The Whitehall Terminal opened in 1903 and was originally designed to look almost exactly like the Battery Maritime Building. Plans to connect the two terminals were never made. Over the years, the terminal went through changes. It was renovated in the 1950s but fell into bad shape by the 1980s. A big fire damaged it in 1991. After that, the terminal was completely rebuilt and reopened in February 2005 as an important place where many different ways to travel come together.

History

Before the Whitehall Terminal was built, people used their own boats for ferry service in New York Harbor as early as the 1700s. A ferry route from South Ferry, Manhattan, to St. George, Staten Island, started in 1816 and was later run by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. After a ferry sank in 1901 and four passengers died, New York City took over the ferry lines.

The city began operating ferries under the Department of Docks and Ferries in 1905. New terminals were planned, and the Whitehall Street Ferry Terminal was designed to have seven slips for ferries to Staten Island and Brooklyn. The Staten Island Ferry part of the terminal opened in 1909.

After World War II, many ferry routes closed, but the St. George–Whitehall route continued. In the 1950s, a new terminal was built with three slips and a large waiting room. It opened in 1956 but was described as very simple in design.

A major fire destroyed much of the terminal in 1991. Plans for a new terminal began soon after, with several designs proposed. Construction finally started in 2000 and the new terminal reopened in 2005, though it cost much more than originally planned. The terminal was updated over the years with new features like Wi‑Fi and charging ports.

Description

The Whitehall Terminal, finished in 2005, is a four-story ferry station. It has three places for ferries and is open all day, every day. About 70,000 people use it each day. You can catch the New York City Subway at the South Ferry/Whitehall Street station, and there are also buses at Peter Minuit Plaza. The terminal has places to sit, eat, and enjoy views of the harbor and the Statue of Liberty. It also has shops and an indoor market run by GrowNYC.

The building has special heating and cooling with solar panels on the roof. Its waiting area is very tall, and there is a special deck where you can look out over the water. The terminal was made to be a nice place to visit, with art and comfortable spaces to wait. Nearby, Peter Minuit Plaza has trees, bus stops, and a special area called the "New Amsterdam Plein and Pavilion" given by the Kingdom of the Netherlands.