Reporter's Photo Tour of Hoboken Terminal

By Karl Vilacoba

My visit to Hoboken for the story "Turning Back the Clock (Tower) on Century-Old Ferry Terminal" marked the first time I'd set foot in the building in about 10 years. A lot had changed, thankfully for the better.

Unfortunately, I could only squeeze in a handful of photos of this classic station in with the printed article. There's a lot to see. Below are a few scenes that didn't make it in.

I happened across the top black and white photo in our archives the other day. I don't know exactly when it's from, although I'd guess the mid-80s. (The current shot on the bottom was provided by the project's lead consultant, STV Inc., and taken by Eduard Huber). The difference is stark. What caught my attention most was the condition of the facade behind the LACKAWANNA lettering. Pieces of the bronze siding had gradually fallen into the water over the years, and it was no doubt much worse once the project began. The green pieces in the bottom photo represent the remaining original parts that could be saved.

Before the restoration project, the ferry area's floor was all at the same elevation as the area at the bottom of the steps. The floor was raised a few feet to make it more resistant to flooding. The rising water levels caused by Hurricane Sandy overcame the higher floor, but reportedly caused no major structural damage to the ferry terminal.

Here's a view of the terminal from the land side. The water in front is an old dock area that was carved out for boats. The bronze exterior on the rectangular section of the building to the right, which is now used by the Hoboken YMCA, will soon be refurbished with new pieces like the river-facing side.

A closeup of some of the bronze details on the building's exterior.

The terminal's elegant waiting room was renovated in 2004 and has been used as a set in several movies. Its stained glass work was done by Louis Comfort Tiffany (unfortunately, my camera doesn't do it justice).

The old machinery on the ceilings above the ferry slips was left intact to contribute to the building's historic industrial atmosphere.

Part of the strategy for keeping that industrial feel intact was the use of materials like steel, concrete, glass and hard woods, as were used for the arches along the ferry slips.

The original deteriorating wooden pilings were replaced by 100 ton steel pipe pilings. A challenge facing the foundation engineers was to drive in the new pilings from within the existing structure with only about 10 feet of headroom, according to the lead consultant, STV.

Two wide view and a closeup of a new steel mural along the wall of the boarding area. The green silhouettes show Hoboken terminal riders and workers from many eras. Soft fiber optic lights shine through the perforations in the metal. 

 

Five of the terminal's original six ferry slips were restored. This one was left as is for historical purposes.

Arena Gives Crowds New Look at Newark

By Karl Vilacoba

Growing up on the Jersey Shore, I often had to choose between the Meadowlands and Madison Square Garden when it came to spending my entertainment dollars. The choice usually boiled down to this question: the highway or the railway?

Whether it was a concert tour or a pro-wrestling card, the venues sometimes hosted the same events days apart. I could make the car trip up the New Jersey Turnpike to the Meadowlands sports complex (home to Giants Stadium and the Izod Center) or hop on a train to Penn Station New York, which is basically the Garden’s basement. Although it was a good half-hour longer, MSG usually won out. The train eliminated the stress of driving as well as the pesky tack-on prices for tolls, parking and gas. But with Newark’s Prudential Center now up and running, I’ll probably be seeing less of MSG in the future.

Pulling out of Penn Station Newark one night, I glanced out the train window at the 4,800-square-foot TV screen on the arena’s exterior and it dawned on me how important transportation is to a venue’s success. Out of this commuter’s daydream was born the idea for this issue’s look at sports arenas and transportation. I learned a lot from reading and writing the various articles in this series, and I hope you did, too.

One of the most thought-provoking of the bunch was a sidebar I worked on called “Academics Say Stadiums Don’t Pay.” The piece features an interview with Professor Rick Eckstein, author of a book that challenges the notion of the sports arena as a catalyst for economic revitalization. Eckstein said that of the dozens of publicly financed stadium projects he’s studied, not one has lived up to its financial promises. When you crunch all of the relevant numbers -- jobs created, tax ratables, sales revenues, etc. -- it never justifies the public investment, he said. And when confronted by these facts, he said, people will defend the stadiums with lame arguments along the lines of community pride.

Which brings me back to Newark. At the expense of sounding just like the suckers Professor Eckstein warned me about, I still think the city’s decision to invest in the Prudential Center was a no-brainer.

Before I started working here, I flat out feared Newark. Notice I said “before.” Because once I spent some time downtown, I felt as safe there as Manhattan. This area today has plenty of great things going for it – the trick is getting people here to see for themselves. That’s exactly what the Prudential Center has been doing, thousands of people a night.

Former Mayor Sharpe James relentlessly pursued a downtown arena a few years ago, casting total faith in the idea that it would be the great economic cornerstone for the city’s future. He offered team owners the heavens to relocate to a blighted patch of properties a few blocks from Newark Penn Station. Just when it seemed like the plan had flatlined, James sealed the deal by pledging $210 million toward its construction. He took some lumps for the move, and rightfully so. After all, the city has no shortage of pressing needs that money could have been spent on.

Let’s say Newark earns back just half of that money through arena-related tax revenues. Can the rest of what it gains really be quantified? In the years since the 1967 riots, attracting tourists has been a huge challenge and good national publicity has been scarce. If you asked me two years ago what the first word to come to mind would be when you said “Newark,” I’d have responded with something like “crime.” Standing around the streets before a recent Devils game, I couldn’t help but wonder how many of those fans would have said the same.

But not after they left. Now the first word they think of might be “Devils,” “hockey,” “arena” or “fun.” If they’ve looked around a little, it could even be something like “museums,” “restaurants” or “universities.” That sure beats “crime.” How much is a change like that worth?

Karl Vilacoba is the author of “The Devils in the Details,” published in the Summer 2008 issue of InTransition. He is the magazine’s managing editor.

The Less Stress Express

By Karl Vilacoba

I’m seeing more grays than I’d care to when I look in the mirror lately, but I read something the other day that reminded me it could be worse.

A recent study suggests that commuters who take the train to work were less stressed by their trip than those who drove. According to “Leave the Driving to Them: Comparing Stress of Car and Train Commuters,” motorists reported significantly higher levels of stress, more negative moods and indicated their trip took more effort and was far less predictable compared to rail riders.

I can certainly relate to this study. When I joined the magazine a few months ago, I had a decision to make: To drive or not to drive. I, too, would be choosing between the NJ Transit rails or the highways. Even my commute time was the same as the average for people in the study, roughly 75 minutes.

I decided to base my decision on a drive I took to our Newark offices for an interview. The meeting was set for 9 a.m., so it would serve as a pretty good indicator for the rush hour traffic I’d face each morning behind the wheel.

On my way in, I got confused by the signs in a construction area and missed my exit. I allowed myself about a half-hour extra to be on the safe side, but I watched in panic as the minutes ticked off on my dashboard clock while I desperately sought a way to turn around in the glorified parking lot that was Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard gridlock traffic. I made the embarrassing call to let my future supervisor know I was running late.

I explained what a disaster Route 280 was to a current co-worker who sat in on that meeting, and he asked with puzzlement why I would ever take that road. I told him that’s what the directions on the Web site said to do. “They do?” he said with a chuckle. “Oops.” Thanks, partner!

If it were purely a matter of speed, I would drive. It would save time, although not enough to be a deal-breaker. If it were purely a matter of money, I probably would save by getting a parking pass and driving, although parking garage fees, tolls, high gas prices and the attrition on my car all add up. But there’s something to be said for living without the fear of getting in a high-speed crash, or the relatively few surprises of a train ride. At the end of the day, it’s a quality of life decision, and I devised a checklist about my drive to help myself make it.

Congestion? Check. Expensive? Check. Stressful? Check. Check. Check. … So where can I get my monthly pass?