The Public Service Terminal was a three-level

streetcar A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport a ...

station in

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County and the second largest city within the New York metropolitan area.Public Service Corporation, adjacent to the

Hudson and Manhattan Railroad Port Authority Trans-Hudson (PATH) is a rapid transit system in the northeastern New Jersey cities of Newark, Harrison, Jersey City, and Hoboken, as well as Lower and Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is operated as a wholly owned sub ...

's Park Place station. It served as the terminus for streetcar lines from as far as Trenton. Public Service was both a transportation company and a utility, providing electric and gas service to much of northern New Jersey. The six office stories above the terminal served as company headquarters. The terminal, opened on April 30, 1916 was located at the northeast corner of Park Place and Raymond Boulevard at Military Park, a few blocks away from the busy downtown crossing at Broad and Market Streets. It provided an off-street terminal for streetcars, and a central location for riders. The street entrance was between the two track levels, and provided access to the office floors and to both terminals. Most cars used the upper level, reached by a ramp from Mulberry Street on the east side. Some used the lower level, reached on the west side from Washington Street by a two-block Cedar Street Subway. In 1916 the upper level saw 2,050 cars a day and the lower 550 cars, with more than 50,000 fares paid per day. In 1935 the lower level was connected to the newly built City Subway, which ran under Raymond Boulevard adjacent to the terminal, to allow cars to continue to the subway terminal at

Penn Station Pennsylvania Station is a name applied by the Pennsylvania Railroad to several of its grand passenger terminals. Pennsylvania Station or Penn Station may also refer to Current train stations * Baltimore Penn Station * Pennsylvania Station (Cinc ...

. The eastbound connection passed under the City Subway to avoid a grade crossing. Like most trolley companies, Public Service converted its routes to bus lines during the 1930s. The last streetcar line using the terminal upper level was the #1-Newark line to Exchange Place Terminal in Jersey City, which ended on August 1, 1937. The last on the lower level was the #43-Jersey City line, running to Exchange Place Terminal by a different route, which ended on May 1, 1938. The terminal continued in use for bus routes. The lower level was used until May 1966, and the upper level until 1978. PSE&G 2

Public Service sold its transportation system to the

New Jersey Transit New Jersey Transit Corporation, branded as NJ Transit, and often shortened to NJT, is a state-owned public transportation system that serves the U.S. state of New Jersey, along with portions of New York State and Pennsylvania. It operates bu ...

in 1981, consisting of a large network of bus lines and one trolley line, the City Subway. The terminal building was demolished in June 1981 and replaced with the

Public Service Enterprise Group The Public Service Enterprise Group (PSEG) is a publicly traded diversified energy company headquartered in Newark, New Jersey and was established in 1985 with a legacy dating back to 1903. The company's largest subsidiary is Public Service Elec ...

headquarters, 80 Park Plaza. The unused Cedar Street Subway from the portal to a wall east of Broad Street still exists. The City Subway tunnel has become part of the Broad Street branch of the

Newark Light Rail The Newark Light Rail (NLR) is a light rail system serving Newark, New Jersey and surrounding areas, operated by New Jersey Transit Bus Operations. The service consists of two segments, the original Newark City Subway (NCS), and the extension t ...

, emerging at Centre Street.

References

*Edward Hamm, Jr., The Public Service Trolley Lines in New Jersey, {{ISBN, 0-933449-12-7 *John Harrington Riley, The Newark City Subway Lines, published by the author, 1987. *New York Times, May 7, 1916, "How Newark's Great Civic Celebration Reveals Progressive Industrial Career".
Public Service Enterprise Group data sheet
accessed on August 22, 2008. New Jersey streetcar lines Skyscraper office buildings in Newark, New Jersey Transportation in Newark, New Jersey Transit hubs serving New Jersey Railway stations in the United States opened in 1916 Railway stations closed in 1938 1916 establishments in New Jersey 1938 disestablishments in New Jersey Demolished buildings and structures in New Jersey Buildings and structures demolished in 1981

See also

References