Pier 54
Encyclopedia
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...
is a former 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...
pier that is associated with the 1912 RMS Titanic and 1915 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...
maritime disasters. It is now part of 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...
.
Chelsea Piers
Pier 54 was one of a set of piers running along the West Side of Manhattan from West 12th to 23rd Street that made up the Chelsea PiersChelsea Piers
Chelsea Piers is a series of piers on the West Side of Manhattan in New York City that was a passenger ship terminal in the early 1900s that was used by the RMS Lusitania and was the destination of the RMS Titanic....
that was completed in 1910. It was designed by the architectural firm of Warren and Wetmore
Warren 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 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...
. The piers replaced a hodgepodge of run-down waterfront structures with a row of grand buildings embellished with pink granite facades.
The pier itself is at Little West 12th Street and the Hudson River in the Meatpacking District/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...
neighborhood.
Components of the Chelsea Piers included the 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...
in the north and the Cunard Line in the south. The Titanic was headed for Pier 59 (at about 18th Street).
Titanic and Lusitania
In April 1912 following the Titanic sinking the RMS CarpathiaRMS 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...
picked up survivors. The ship first went to the White Star piers where it discharged the 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 the port in 1915 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...
.
Obsolescence
The pier continued luxury liner service until the 1930s when a luxury liner row was built between West 44th and West 52nd Street52nd Street (Manhattan)
52nd Street is a long one-way street traveling west to east across Midtown Manhattan.-Jazz center:The blocks of 52nd Street between Fifth Avenue and Seventh Avenue were renowned in the mid-20th century for the abundance of jazz clubs and lively street life...
to handle larger liners.
The pier was used for troop ships 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...
. After the war it was used as part of the W. R. Grace and Company
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...
and 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:...
freight operations.
In the 1980s plans were made to demolish it (and the rest of the Chelsea Piers) for the Westway highway. In 1991 the structure was torn down although it remained an open air pier and the entrance archway was preserved. A faded sign on the archway notes the name of the merged Cunard White Star line.
Hudson River Park
Since then it has been used for concerts and the annual Gay PrideGay pride
LGBT pride or gay pride is the concept that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people should be proud of their sexual orientation and gender identity...
dance each June. The Nomadic Museum
Nomadic Museum
The Nomadic Museum is a purpose-built temporary structure used to house the Ashes and Snow photography and film exhibition by Gregory Colbert.Gregory Colbert originally conceived of the idea for a sustainable traveling museum in 1999...
art exhibit housed in shipping containers was there in 2005.
In 1998 it became 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...
. Plans call for the pier to be used to celebrate maritime events. During the summer months, Pier 54 hosts free movies and concerts, among other events.
Band in a Bubble
Pier 54 was the site for MTV's reality television program Band in a BubbleBand in a Bubble
Band in a Bubble was a TV show that consists of round-the-clock live broadcasting, during which a band spends an extended period of time inside a "bubble," writing and recording an album. The Band in a Bubble concept was created by Paul Curtis, a band manager, tour promoter, owner of Valve...
in which a popular band (in this case, Cartel
Cartel (band)
Cartel is a American pop rock band from Conyers, Georgia that formed in 2003. The band is best known for their single "Honestly", featured on their 2005 debut album Chroma, and for their 2007 appearance on MTV's Band in a Bubble....
) is placed inside a large "bubble" enclosure where they write and record a new album in 20 days while under constant surveillance. Webcams placed strategically inside the building broadcast via internet live images of the band's movements and progress.