New York Waterfront: Evolution and Building Culture of the Port and Harbor

Ever since Peter Stuyvesant established the first pier in the 1640s, the New York City waterfront has been a hotbed of controversy and conflicting special interests. Not until 1871 did the city institute the Department of Docks to bring some order to the port and harbor; prior to that, the city's 112 piers were all under the authority of different agencies, and by the 1870s the entire infrastructure had decayed; wooden wharves were dilapidated, rat-infested, and unsafe. To impose some method upon the maritime madness, the city created its Department of Docks under General George B. McClellan. For 60 years the waterfront thrived, until New Jersey replaced New York as a final destination for container ships; now the area is once again in decline.

In The New York Waterfront, historians, students, architects, and teachers take a look at where the port and harbor have been and speculate about their future. The six essays in this book offer both a historical context and a commentary on solutions, both hypothetical and those in-progress. It is as much about New York's civic culture as about its waterfront, and thus it's a fascinating read, even for those without a vested interest in the future of the harbor.