This section of the Park includes the
Gansevoort Peninsula, Pier 53 (home of the NYC Fire Department
Marine Company One), Pier 54 (an open public pier), 14th Street
Park, Pier 56 (a pile field), Pier 57 (a future development site),
Pier 58 (a pile field), Chelsea Piers (Piers 59-62), Basketball
City (Pier 63), Pier 64 (condemned) and Chelsea Waterside Park.
Pier 52 Cross Street: Gansevoort St.
Pier 53 Cross Street: 12th St.
Pier 54 Cross Street: 13th St.
Pier 57 Cross Street: 15th St.
Pier 59 Cross Street: 18th St.
Pier 60 Cross Street: 19th St.
Pier 61 Cross Street: 21th St.
Pier 62 Cross Street: 22nd St.
Pier 63 Cross Street: 23th St.
Pier 64 Cross Street: 24th St.
Unique to the Chelsea area are the two park areas that can be
found on the east side of the highway. At 14th Street, the park
includes a triangular shaped grass lawn with table and seating.
Between 22nd & 24th Streets is Chelsea Waterside Park, which
is home to a sports field, dog run, basketball court, planted
areas, and a children's playground with water features.
Pier 54 is a large
open pier that regularly hosts such events as Hudson River Park's
RiverFlicks and RiverRocks series. It has also accommodated a
variety of special outside events, such as the Ashes and Snow
art installation, MTV concerts, Wigstock, the Heritage of Pride
Dance Party, and more.
Pier 57 is planned to be redeveloped privately
under the Hudson River Park Trust's jursidiction as a mixed use
facility.
Piers 59, 60 and 61 are home to the Chelsea Piers
Sports and Entertainment facility, which is operated by Chelsea
Piers Management. This sports and
recreation facility features a golf driving range, a marina, two
ice skating rinks, a bowling alley, commercial excursion boating,
television studios and restaurants. A public pedestrian walkway
surrounds the perimeter of each pier. Pier 62 is currently part
of Chelsea Piers, but in the future, it will become a public pier.
Facilities currently located on Pier 62 include skating and skateboard
areas, boat docking, and a landscaped area at the western end.
Pier 63 is currently home to Basketball
City. Directly west of the building is Pier 63 Maritime,
a barge offering public access and a cafe. Pier 63 Maritime is
also home to a variety of boats including the historic Fireboat
John J. Harvey.
In
the future
Once the Sanitation facilities currently located on the Gansevoort
Peninsula can be relocated, this large area will be home to such
amenities as a rocky shoreline beach, a play lawn, and recreational
boating areas. Fire Department Marine Company One, Manhattan’s
only remaining waterside fire station, will remain on Pier 53.
Pier 54 will continue to have space for public concerts and other
events, but it will also accommodate historic vessels. A planted
seating area will also allow for passive recreation, including
reading and watching sunsets. It is expected that Pier 57 will
have a public esplanade surrounding the entire pier, as well as
a public park area measuring over one acre on the rooftop. Piers
59, 60 and 61 will remain as the Chelsea Piers Sports and Entertainment
Complex.
The western portion of Chelsea
Waterside park will span from Piers 62 to 64 and will have great
lawns, groves of trees, one of New York's most beautiful gardens,
and a carousel. Pier 62 will continue
to have a skate park, but a carousel and more plantings will also
be provided. At Pier 63, the building will be demolished to make
room for a waterside esplanade and park. The pier shed at Pier
64 will also be removed, and the Pier will be rebuilt on its original
footprint. Pier 64 will have lawns, a grove of trees and amenities
for passive recreation.
Historical
Notes
Look closely at the entrance arch at Pier 54,
and you'll see that it was once a Cunard-White Star pier. Pier
54 was the departure point for the Lusitania's first
voyage, and is where the survivors from the Titanic disembarked
from the Carpathia.
Manhattan once had a well-used Thirteenth Avenue.
It ran from Bloomfield Street on what is now the Gansevoort Peninsula
all the way to 23rd Street. The area was later excavated to permit
longer ships to dock without blocking the channel. Today, only
a one-block stretch remains on the Gansevoort Peninsula. This
block will be preserved as part of the park's redevelopment plans.
Pier 57 is listed on the State and National Registers
of Historic Places. It was built in 1952 and is considered significant
because of its innovative engineering design by Emil Praeger,
who designed floating piers for Allied landings in World War II.
Pier 57 is supported by three buoyant, hollow concrete boxes.
These 27,000-ton sections were built in Haverstraw, NY. Upon completion,
they were flooded and floated down the river to their current
location. The Pier's method of construction was widely heralded
and publicized in engineering journals at the time.
The two Piersheds at Piers 60 and 61 are rare
surviving examples of early 20th Century passenger ship terminals.
Designed by Warren & Wetmore, they were completed in 1910.
They remain intact, with original materials and some original
equipment, and have been restored by Chelsea Piers Management.
Subway
14th Street
23th Street
Bus - M14 along 14th Street travels west until 9th
Avenue, then travels along 15th to West Street, and North on West
Street until 18th, when is heads back east. M23 travels
west along 23rd Street. The 11th Avenue stop is right in front
of Chelsea Waterside, the bus then continues to Chelsea Piers.
Facilities
Batting
Cages and Baseball Leagues, Basketball,
Boating - Docking Facilities,
Boating - Kayaking/Rowing,
Boating - Cruises and Ferries/Taxis,
Dog Runs, Fields,
Fishing, Food
Concessions and Restaurants, Golf,
Historic Ships,
Ice Skating, Parking,
Play Areas, Rock
Climbing, Skate Park,
Swimming
