10281911

Watching warships 10/28/11 (LOC)

from The Library of Congress

• Don said:

  According to the writing, this appears to be set in May's Landing, NJ.

• The Library of Congress said:

  "May's Landing" may refer to either the destination of the ferry that stops at the labeled pier or to the proprietor of the pier. The actual location appears to be in or around New York City based on the sign "?th Street Ferry" with the names of various stations in the New York City area. Anybody know which ferry this is?

• Jimmy Mac said:

  Hi, I'm an admin for a group called Vintage New Jersey, and we'd love to have this added to the group!

• gtspalding said:

  The "Dept. of Docks & Ferries" label on the dock definitely places it in NYC. The gas tank in the background would have been part of a manufacturd gas plant facility. The caption refers to warships. but the date is six years before America's entry into WWI. The only places warships would have been "watched" in 1911 would most likely have been the East River around the Navy yard, or on the Hudson, near Hoboken. There aren't really any streets terminating at the river around the Navy yard that would have ended in "...th". However, 14th Street on the west side of Manhattan was a very busy embarkation point for ferries to New Jersey. Also, according to Con Ed records, there was a major gas plant between 16th and 20th Streets along the Hudson. And that bridge behind the buildings looks to be about where the old High Line elevated railway once stood. So maybe this is the 14th Street Ferry?