Chelsea Piers
Encyclopedia
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
that was a passenger ship terminal in the early 1900s that was used by the RMS Lusitania
RMS Lusitania
RMS Lusitania was a British ocean liner designed by Leonard Peskett and built by John Brown and Company of Clydebank, Scotland. The ship entered passenger service with the Cunard Line on 26 August 1907 and continued on the line's heavily-traveled passenger service between Liverpool, England and New...
and was the destination of the RMS Titanic.
The piers are currently used by the Chelsea Piers Sports & Entertainment Complex. The new complex includes film and television production facilities, including those for CBS College Sports Network and Food Network
Food Network
Food Network is a television specialty channel that airs both one-time and recurring programs about food and cooking. Scripps Networks Interactive owns 70 percent of the network, with Tribune Company controlling the remaining 30 percent....
, a health club
Health club
A health club is a place which houses exercise equipment for the purpose of physical exercise.-Main workout area:...
, a day spa
Day spa
A day spa is a business establishment which people visit for professionally administered personal care treatments such as massages and facials. It is similar to a beauty salon in that it is only visited for the duration of the treatment. Day spas sited in airport terminals are often called airport...
, the city's largest training center for gymnastics
Gymnastics
Gymnastics is a sport involving performance of exercises requiring physical strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, and balance. Internationally, all of the gymnastic sports are governed by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique with each country having its own national governing body...
, two basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
courts, playing fields for indoor lacrosse
Lacrosse
Lacrosse is a team sport of Native American origin played using a small rubber ball and a long-handled stick called a crosse or lacrosse stick, mainly played in the United States and Canada. It is a contact sport which requires padding. The head of the lacrosse stick is strung with loose mesh...
and soccer, batting cage
Batting cage
A batting cage is an enclosed cage for baseball players to practice the skill of batting.It is usually made of netting or a chain-link fence and rectangular in shape. A batter stands at one end of the cage, with a pitching machine at the opposing end...
s, a rock climbing
Rock climbing
Rock climbing also lightly called 'The Gravity Game', is a sport in which participants climb up, down or across natural rock formations or artificial rock walls. The goal is to reach the summit of a formation or the endpoint of a pre-defined route without falling...
wall and dance
Dance
Dance is an art form that generally refers to movement of the body, usually rhythmic and to music, used as a form of expression, social interaction or presented in a spiritual or performance setting....
studios. In addition there is an AMF Bowling
American Machinery and Foundry
American Machine and Foundry or AMF was founded in 1900 and was once one of the largest recreational equipment companies in the United States.-History:...
center, a golf club with multi-story driving range, and two full sized ice rink
Ice rink
An ice rink is a frozen body of water and/or hardened chemicals where people can skate or play winter sports. Besides recreational ice skating, some of its uses include ice hockey, figure skating and curling as well as exhibitions, contests and ice shows...
s for skating. After the collapse of the World Trade Towers due to the September 11 attacks, EMS triage centers were quickly relocated and consolidated at the Chelsea Piers (and the Staten Island Ferry
Staten Island Ferry
The Staten Island Ferry is a passenger ferry service operated by the New York City Department of Transportation that runs between the boroughs of Manhattan and Staten Island.-Overview:...
Terminal).
It is located in the Chelsea neighborhood, on the northern edge of Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village, , , , .in New York often simply called "the Village", is a largely residential neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City. A large majority of the district is home to upper middle class families...
and the Meatpacking District. The complex also includes a marina
Marina
A marina is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats.A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships or cargo from freighters....
for mooring private boats.
Roland W. Betts
Roland W. Betts
Roland Whitney Betts is an investor, film producer, developer, and owner of Chelsea Piers in New York City. A classmate and Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity brother of George W. Bush, Betts was the lead owner in Bush's Texas Rangers partnership. He is a graduate of St...
is the principal owner.
Current use
Sports venues include:The Golf Club, The Field House, Sky Rink, The Sports Center health club (houses the Spa at Chelsea Piers), Chelsea Piers BlueStreak, 300 New York bowling.
The Golf Club at Chelsea Piers includes a year-round outdoor golf driving range, a teaching academy, two full-swing simulators and two private event rooms. The driving range has four tiers, is weather protected and heated and utilizes a Japanese-technology automated ball tee-up system.
The Field House at Chelsea Piers has programs for both children and adults in soccer, basketball, gymnastics, baseball, and rock climbing. There are also dance classes and multi-sport programs for kids. Children have birthday parties and attend summer and holiday camps here. Adults participate in soccer and basketball leagues at night.
BlueStreak Sports Training specializes in individual training.
CP Kids daycare and preschool is located within the Field House.
Sky Rink at Chelsea Piers houses Manhattan’s only year-round, twin indoor ice rinks. Programs include youth and adult hockey, general skating, skating school, figure skating sessions, and holiday and summer camps. Private and group lessons and ice skating birthday parties are available.
The Sports Center health club is Chelsea Piers’ only membership facility. Amenities include: a swimming pool, Hudson River sundecks, basketball courts, a ¼-mile indoor track, a boxing ring, NYC's only sand volleyball court, a 10000 square feet (929 m²) rock climbing wall for members & non-members, pilates, cardio and strength-training equipment, and a wide variety of fitness classes. All members and guests must be 16 years of age or older.
The Spa at Chelsea Piers, located inside the Sports Center, opened in 1995 as the Origins Feel-Good Spa. When Chelsea Piers took it over in 2001, the name changed to the current one. The Spa has eight treatment rooms, a spa lounge and a manicure/pedicure room with river views, and is open to the general public. With any purchase of $75 or more at The Spa, you receive a Day Pass to the Sports Center.
Pier 59 is home to the Chelsea Brewing Company,LLCm the only micro-brewery in Manhattan. Event spaces, Pier 60 and The Lighthouse, are operated by caterer Abigail Kirsch.
Gansevoort Peninsula
Historically, the term Chelsea Piers referred to the luxury liner berths on Manhattan's west side from 1910 to the 1930s.Most of the major trans-Atlantic liners of the day docked at the piers and they played pivotal roles in the RMS Titanic and RMS Lusitania
RMS Lusitania
RMS Lusitania was a British ocean liner designed by Leonard Peskett and built by John Brown and Company of Clydebank, Scotland. The ship entered passenger service with the Cunard Line on 26 August 1907 and continued on the line's heavily-traveled passenger service between Liverpool, England and New...
disasters.
With luxury liners such as the Titanic becoming bigger and bigger, New York City was looking for a new luxury liner dock in the early 1900s. The Army, which controlled the location and size of piers, refused to let any piers extend beyond the existing pierhead line
Bulkhead line
Bulkhead line is an officially set line along a shoreline, usually outside of the dry land, to demark a territory allowable to be treated as dry land, to separate the jurisdictions of dry land and water authorities, for construction and riparian activities, to establish limits to the allowable...
of the North River (the navigation name for the Hudson River
Hudson River
The Hudson is a river that flows from north to south through eastern New York. The highest official source is at Lake Tear of the Clouds, on the slopes of Mount Marcy in the Adirondack Mountains. The river itself officially begins in Henderson Lake in Newcomb, New York...
south of 30th Street). Ship lines were reluctant to build north of 23rd Street because infrastructure was already in place, including the High Line Rail line and a train station near the river at 23rd Street
23rd Street (Manhattan)
23rd Street is a broad thoroughfare in the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is one of few two-way streets in the gridiron of the borough. As with Manhattan's other "crosstown" streets, it is divided at Fifth Avenue, in this case at Madison Square Park, into its east and west sections. Since...
.
New York City solved the problem in an unusual way — it actually took away a block of land that was once part of Manhattan.
The land was the 1837 landfill that extended Manhattan to 13th Avenue
13th Avenue (Manhattan)
Thirteenth Avenue is a street in the New York City borough of Manhattan, USA, built on landfill in 1837 along the Hudson River, though only a block of it still remains....
. The controversial decision included condemning many businesses. The city was unable to condemn the West Washington Street Market and was left to remain landfill. The market ultimately closed and the dock was converted to a sanitation facility that was used to load garbage barges headed for the Fresh Kills Landfill
Fresh Kills Landfill
The Fresh Kills Landfill was a landfill covering in the New York City borough of Staten Island in the United States. The name comes from the landfill's location along the banks of the Fresh Kills estuary in western Staten Island...
. The only section of 13th Avenue that remains is now a parking lot for sanitation trucks. The landfill is now called the Gansevoort Peninsula.
Terminal design
The new piers were designed by the architectural firm of Warren and WetmoreWarren and Wetmore
Warren and Wetmore was an architecture firm in New York City. It was a partnership between Whitney Warren and Charles Wetmore , that had one of the most extensive practices of its time and was known for the designing of large hotels.Whitney Warren was a cousin of the Vanderbilts and spent ten...
, which has also designed Grand Central Terminal
Grand Central Terminal
Grand Central Terminal —often incorrectly called Grand Central Station, or shortened to simply Grand Central—is a terminal station at 42nd Street and Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States...
. Under contracts let by the New York City Department of Dock and Ferries, the Chelsea Section Improvement, as it was officially called, replaced a hodgepodge of run-down waterfront structures with a row of grand buildings embellished with pink granite facades and formed the docking points for the rival Cunard Line
Cunard Line
Cunard Line is a British-American owned shipping company based at Carnival House in Southampton, England and operated by Carnival UK. It has been a leading operator of passenger ships on the North Atlantic for over a century...
and White Star Line
White Star Line
The Oceanic Steam Navigation Company or White Star Line of Boston Packets, more commonly known as the White Star Line, was a prominent British shipping company, today most famous for its ill-fated vessel, the RMS Titanic, and the World War I loss of Titanics sister ship Britannic...
.
Lusitania and Titanic disasters
While every trans-Atlantic ship of the era visited the piers, with the exception of RMS Titanic, the two most memorable moments for the pier were with the Lusitania and Titanic.The RMS Lusitania
RMS Lusitania
RMS Lusitania was a British ocean liner designed by Leonard Peskett and built by John Brown and Company of Clydebank, Scotland. The ship entered passenger service with the Cunard Line on 26 August 1907 and continued on the line's heavily-traveled passenger service between Liverpool, England and New...
left her Cunard Pier 54
Pier 54
Pier 54 in New York City is a former Cunard Line pier that is associated with the 1912 RMS Titanic and 1915 RMS Lusitania maritime disasters. It is now part of Hudson River Park.-Chelsea Piers:...
before being torpedoed and becoming the rallying cry for American involvement in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
.
The RMS Titanic was destined for the White Star pier 59 when she sank. Survivors were rescued on Cunard's RMS Carpathia
RMS Carpathia
RMS Carpathia was a Cunard Line transatlantic passenger steamship built by Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson. Carpathia made her maiden voyage in 1903 and became famous for rescuing the survivors of after the latter ship hit an iceberg and sank on 15 April 1912...
. The Carpathia dropped off the Titanic's lifeboats at Pier 59 before going back south to Pier 54 where she unloaded the passengers and survivors. Thousands of people assembled at the dock to greet the ship.
In July 1936, the Chelsea Piers were the point of departure for Jesse Owens
Jesse Owens
James Cleveland "Jesse" Owens was an American track and field athlete who specialized in the sprints and the long jump. He participated in the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, Germany, where he achieved international fame by winning four gold medals: one each in the 100 meters, the 200 meters, the...
and the United States Olympic team as they left for the Summer Games
1936 Summer Olympics
The 1936 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XI Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event which was held in 1936 in Berlin, Germany. Berlin won the bid to host the Games over Barcelona, Spain on April 26, 1931, at the 29th IOC Session in Barcelona...
in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
.
Cargo terminal
After New York moved its luxury liner piers to the New York Cruise Terminal between West 46th and West 54th Street54th Street (Manhattan)
54th Street is a two-mile-long, one-way street traveling west to east across Midtown Manhattan.-West Side Highway:*The route begins at the West Side Highway . Opposite the intersection is the New York Passenger Ship Terminal and the Hudson River...
in 1935 to accommodate bigger ships such as the RMS Queen Mary
RMS Queen Mary
RMS Queen Mary is a retired ocean liner that sailed primarily in the North Atlantic Ocean from 1936 to 1967 for the Cunard Line...
and the , the pier became a cargo terminal. During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
the piers were used to deploy troops.
The piers had a catstrophic fire in 1947 that destroyed some of the south piers. New construction resulted in new cargo piers used by the United States Lines
United States Lines
United States Lines was a transatlantic shipping company that operated cargo services from 1921 to 1989, and ocean liners until 1969—most famously the SS United States.-1920s:...
and Grace line
W. R. Grace and Company
W. R. Grace and Company is a Columbia, Maryland, United States based chemical conglomerate.The company has two main divisions, Davison Chemicals and Performance Chemicals. The Davison unit makes chemical catalysts, refining catalysts, and silica-based products that let other companies make...
.
Westway demolition plans
In the 1980s, plans circulated to replace the West Side Elevated HighwayWest Side Elevated Highway
The West Side Elevated Highway was an elevated section of Route NY-9A running along the Hudson River in the New York City borough of Manhattan to the tip of the island.It was an elevated highway, one of the first urban freeways in the world, and served as a...
with an at grade highway going along the West Side south of 42nd Street. The plan called for the highway to run over demolished piers. Pier 54 was actually demolished in 1991 although the archway entrance (along with the White Star and Cunard signage) was retained. The plan (dubbed the Westway) was abandoned after court cases said the new highway would jeopardize striped bass
Striped bass
The striped bass is the state fish of Maryland, Rhode Island, South Carolina, and the state saltwater fish of New York, Virginia, and New Hampshire...
.
Recreation usage
Following the demise of Westway, development of the West Side HighwayWest Side Highway
The West Side Highway is a mostly surface section of New York State Route 9A that runs from West 72nd Street along the Hudson River to the southern tip of Manhattan. It replaced the West Side Elevated Highway, built between 1929 and 1951, which was shut down in 1973 due to neglect and lack of...
evolved into two parts: a public/private partnership that evolved into the upper piers being used for recreational purposes. The southern piers are now part of the Hudson River Park
Hudson River Park
Hudson River Park is a waterside park on the Hudson River that extends from 59th Street south to Battery Park in the New York City borough of Manhattan. Bicycle and pedestrian paths, including the Manhattan Waterfront Greenway, span the park north to south, opening up the waterfront for...
while the northern piers make up the Chelsea Piers Sports & Entertainment Complex.
Construction of Chelsea Piers Sports and Entertainment Complex began on July 12 1994 in ceremonies attended by New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
Governor
Governor
A governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...
Mario Cuomo
Mario Cuomo
Mario Matthew Cuomo served as the 52nd Governor of New York from 1983 to 1994, and is the father of Andrew Cuomo, the current governor of New York.-Early life:...
, New York City Mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
Rudy Giuliani
Rudy Giuliani
Rudolph William Louis "Rudy" Giuliani KBE is an American lawyer, businessman, and politician from New York. He served as Mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001....
, and Manhattan Borough President
Borough president
Borough President is an elective office in each of the five boroughs of New York City.-Reasons for establishment:...
Ruth Messinger
Ruth Messinger
Ruth Wyler Messinger is a former political leader in New York City and a member of the Democratic Party as well as the Democratic Socialists of America. She was the Democratic nominee for Mayor of New York City in 1997, losing to incumbent mayor Rudy Giuliani. She is married to Andrew Lachman, her...
.http://www.chelseapiers.com/prHistory.htm
Trivia
- Law & OrderLaw & OrderLaw & Order is an American police procedural and legal drama television series, created by Dick Wolf and part of the Law & Order franchise. It aired on NBC, and in syndication on various cable networks. Law & Order premiered on September 13, 1990, and completed its 20th and final season on May 24,...
and Law & Order: Criminal IntentLaw & Order: Criminal IntentLaw & Order: Criminal Intent is an American police procedural television drama series set in New York City, where it was also primarily produced. Created and produced by Dick Wolf and René Balcer, the series premiered on September 30, 2001, as the second spin-off of Wolf's successful crime drama...
are filmed in studios located on Chelsea Piers.- On September 14, 2004, a road leading to Pier 62 was renamed "Law & Order Way".http://www.nyc.gov/html/film/html/news/091604_commissioner_oliver_presents.shtml
- Sky Rink has the only year-round ice skating rinks in Manhattan.
- Twenty-five movies have been filmed at Chelsea Piers.
- Chelsea Piers was mentioned in a 2010 Hollywood release "The Other Guys".
- Directly opposite Chelsea Piers is the Venus (mural)Venus (mural)Venus is a twelve-story-high mural painting by Knox Martin on the south side of Bayview Correctional Facility at 19th Street and 11th Avenue in New York City.Venus was commissioned by Doris Freedman of CityWalls in 1970...
: a ten story high mural painting by New York artist Knox MartinKnox MartinKnox Martin is an American painter, sculptor and muralist.Born in 1923 in Barranquilla, Colombia, he studied at the Art Students League of New York from 1946 till 1950. He is one of the leading members of New York School - a group of artists and writers. He lives and works in New York City."Art is...
http://www.knoxmartin.com on the south side of Bayview Correctional FacilityBayview Correctional FacilityBayview Correctional Facility is a medium-security women's prison located at the corner of West 20th Street and 11th Avenue in Manhattan, directly across the street from the Chelsea Piers sports complex. It is highly unusual to find a state penitentiary in the middle of a major city. Bayview...
at 19th Street and 11th Avenue. - The Apprentice filmed three episodes at Chelsea Piers, including 2 finales.
- The first four seasons of Spin CitySpin CitySpin City is an American sitcom television series that aired from September 17, 1996 until April 30, 2002 on the ABC network. Created by Gary David Goldberg and Bill Lawrence, the show was based on a fictional local government running New York City, and originally starred Michael J. Fox as Mike...
were shot in studio D on Chelsea Piers. - Right To PlayRight to PlayRight To Play is an international humanitarian organization that uses sport and play programs to improve health, develop life skills, and foster peace for children and communities in some of the most disadvantaged areas of the world...
's USA office is located at Chelsea Piers.