The City's Great Gateways: A Look at New York's Piers in the Early 1900s

The City's Great Gateways: A Look at New York's Piers in the Early 1900s

In the first decades of the 20th century, the piers of New York City were the vital connection between the metropolis and the rest of the world. The waterfront along the Hudson and East Rivers was a forest of wooden pilings and long covered sheds, a scene of constant activity where giant ocean liners, cargo ships, and excursion steamboats docked. These piers were the city’s great gateways, handling a massive flow of people, raw materials, and ma…