Pavonia Terminal was the

Erie Railroad The Erie Railroad was a railroad that operated in the northeastern United States, originally connecting New York City — more specifically Jersey City, New Jersey, where Erie's Pavonia Terminal, long demolished, used to stand — with Lake ...

terminal Terminal may refer to: Computing Hardware * Terminal (electronics), a device for joining electrical circuits together * Terminal (telecommunication), a device communicating over a line * Computer terminal, a set of primary input and output devi ...

on the

Hudson River The Hudson River is a river that flows from north to south primarily through eastern New York. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York and flows southward through the Hudson Valley to the New York Harbor between Ne ...

situated on the landfilled Harsimus Cove in

Jersey City, New Jersey Jersey City is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, after Newark.Hoboken Terminal Hoboken Terminal is a commuter-oriented intermodal passenger station in Hoboken, Hudson County, New Jersey. One of the New York metropolitan area's major transportation hubs, it is served by nine NJ Transit (NJT) commuter rail lines, one Metr ...

. The

New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway The New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway (or New York, Susquehanna and Western Railroad and also known as the Susie-Q or the Susquehanna) is a Class II American freight railway operating over 400 miles (645 km) of track in t ...

also ran commuter trains from the terminal and various street cars, ferries and the underground

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 ...

serviced the station. The station was abandoned in 1958 and demolished in 1961. The site was eventually redeveloped into the Newport district in the late 20th century. Pavonia was one of five passenger railroad terminals that lined the western shore of the

Hudson Waterfront The Hudson Waterfront is an urban area of northeastern New Jersey along the lower reaches of the Hudson River, the Upper New York Bay and the Kill van Kull. Though the term can specifically mean the shoreline, it is often used to mean the contigu ...

from the mid-19th to mid-20th centuries, along with those at

Weehawken Weehawken is a township in the northern part of Hudson County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is located largely on the Hudson Palisades overlooking the Hudson River. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 17,197.

Hoboken Hoboken ( ; Unami: ') is a city in Hudson County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 60,417. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program calculated that the city's population was 58,69 ...

, Exchange Place, and

Communipaw Communipaw is a neighborhood in Jersey City in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. It is located west of Liberty State Park and east of Bergen Hill, and the site of one of the earliest European settlements in North America. It gives its nam ...

, with Hoboken being the only one still in service.

History

The Erie began developing the waterfront site in 1856. The intermodal complex was open December 4, 1887. Across the river-facing facade was ''

New York, Lake Erie and Western Railroad The Erie Railroad was a railroad that operated in the northeastern United States, originally connecting New York City — more specifically Jersey City, New Jersey, where Erie's Pavonia Terminal, long demolished, used to stand — with Lake Eri ...

'', the name of the entity that built it, though it was also called ''Jersey City Terminal Station'' or ''Erie Railroad Station'' The colloquial name is taken from the 17th century European settlement of

Pavonia, New Netherland Pavonia was the first European settlement on the west bank of the North River (Hudson River) that was part of the seventeenth-century province of New Netherland in what would become the present Hudson County, New Jersey. Hudson and the Hackens ...

, which began in the area and the ferry that served it. It has been described as "a brightly colored Victorian eclectic three story terminal located at the foot of Pavonia Avenue to serve a twelve track" station. It was designed by George E. Archer. The end of track was at about 40.7266 N 74.0304 W. Besides the railroad, the complex was served by ferries,

streetcars 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 ar ...

and the

rapid transit Rapid transit or mass rapid transit (MRT), also known as heavy rail or metro, is a type of high-capacity public transport generally found in urban areas. A rapid transit system that primarily or traditionally runs below the surface may be ...

(now PATH). The terminal was also used by

trains.NYSW Stations
/ref> Long distance and suburban passenger trains reached the terminal by travelling through

Bergen Hill Bergen Hill refers to the lower Hudson Palisades in New Jersey, where they emerge on Bergen Neck, which in turn is the peninsula between the Hackensack and Hudson Rivers, and their bays. In Hudson County, it reaches a height of 260 feet. Rai ...

via the Long Dock Tunnel and later under the

Bergen Arches Bergen Arches is an abandoned railroad right of way through Bergen Hill (the lower New Jersey Palisades) in Jersey City, New Jersey. History Bergen Arches is the common name for the Erie Cut, the Erie Railroad's mile-long, four-track cut whic ...

. In October 1956 the Erie Railroad began moving its trains out of Pavonia Terminal and into

Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad The Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad (also known as the DL&W or Lackawanna Railroad) was a U.S. Class 1 railroad that connected Buffalo, New York, and Hoboken, New Jersey (and by ferry with New York City), a distance of . Incorporated in ...

Hoboken Terminal Hoboken Terminal is a commuter-oriented intermodal passenger station in Hoboken, Hudson County, New Jersey. One of the New York metropolitan area's major transportation hubs, it is served by nine NJ Transit (NJT) commuter rail lines, one Metr ...

, and by 1960 had merged to become the

Erie Lackawanna Railway The Erie Lackawanna Railway , known as the Erie Lackawanna Railroad until 1968, was formed from the 1960 merger of the Erie Railroad and the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad. The official motto of the line was "The Friendly Service Route" ...

. Erie's Northern Branch trains moved to Hoboken in 1959; the New York, Susquehanna and Western operated to the terminal until it pulled back to

Susquehanna Transfer Susquehanna Transfer was a passenger station on the New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway, located in North Bergen, New Jersey located at what today is the Route 495 overpass. It was an interchange station where transfer was possible ...

in 1961. The terminal was razed by 1961.

Service

Railroads

The

's Main Line ran from

Jersey City Jersey City is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, after Newark.Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

via

Binghamton Binghamton () is a City (New York), city in the United States, U.S. state of New York (state), New York, and serves as the county seat of Broome County, New York, Broome County. Surrounded by rolling hills, it lies in the state's Southern Tier reg ...

, Youngstown and

Akron Akron () is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Summit County. It is located on the western edge of the Glaciated Allegheny Plateau, about south of downtown Cleveland. As of the 2020 Census, the city ...

; with a line to Buffalo, and a spur to

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the United States, U.S. U.S. state, state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along ...

. The name and a portion of the route exists in the form of 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 ...

Main Line to

Suffern, New York Suffern is a village that was incorporated in 1796 in the town of Ramapo in Rockland County, New York. Suffern is located 31 miles northwest of Manhattan. As of the 2010 census, Suffern's population was 10,723.Port Jervis. Parts of the contemporary

Bergen County Line The Bergen County Line is a commuter rail line and service owned and operated by New Jersey Transit in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The line loops off the Main Line between the Meadowlands and Glen Rock, with trains continuing in either dir ...

and

Pascack Valley Line The Pascack Valley Line is a commuter rail line operated by the Hoboken Division of New Jersey Transit, in the United States. The line runs north from Hoboken Terminal, through Hudson County and Bergen County in New Jersey, and into Rockland Co ...

were also Erie operated, while sections of its Greenwood Lake Branch have been incorporated into the

Montclair-Boonton Line The Montclair-Boonton Line is a commuter rail line of New Jersey Transit Rail Operations in the United States. It is part of the Hoboken Division. The line is a consolidation of three individual lines: the former Delaware, Lackawanna & Western R ...

. The Northern Branch of the Northern Railroad of New Jersey is another line from the Erie era along which freight is transported and that may be revived as light rail service. The last train to leave the station, the #1205 at 6:35 p.m. on Friday, December 12, 1958, was along the Northern Branch. The

Newark Branch The Newark Branch was a branch of the Erie Railroad in New Jersey, United States, running between Jersey City and Paterson with stops in the Broadway Section in North Newark. Inaugurated in the 1870s, the line was last used for passenger serv ...

(with continuing service to Paterson) and the Orange Branch were also parts of its suburban network. The

main line ran to

Wilkes-Barre Wilkes-Barre ( or ) is a city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Luzerne County. Located at the center of the Wyoming Valley in Northeastern Pennsylvania, it had a population of 44,328 in the 2020 census. It is the s ...

, although passenger service was operated that far for only a few years (and that Wilkes Barre and Eastern line was completely abandoned, even for freight service, in 1939), while regular commuter service ran only to Butler, NJ until 1966. Named trains, many of them long distance, originated at the station. These included '' Atlantic Express,'' ''

Erie Limited The ''Erie Limited'' was a streamlined passenger train operated by the Erie Railroad between Jersey City, New Jersey (for New York City) and Chicago, Illinois via the Southern Tier. It operated from 1929 to 1963. After the merger of the Erie and ...

,'' '' Lake Cities,'' '' Midlander,'' ''Mountain Express,'' ''

Pacific Express Pacific Express was an all-jet airline in the western United States from 1982 to early based in marketed itself as Pan Am Pacific Express reflecting a marketing agreement between Pan American World Airways (Pan Am) and the carrier for connectin ...

,'' and ''Southern Tier Express.''

Ferry

The Pavonia Ferry began running in 1851, along a route that had been established some decades earlier as Budd's Ferry. It was taken over by the Erie and sold to the Pavonia Ferry Company of Jersey City for what was considered a low price of $9,050, at

New York City Hall New York City Hall is the seat of New York City government, located at the center of City Hall Park in the Civic Center area of Lower Manhattan, between Broadway, Park Row, and Chambers Street. Constructed from 1803 to 1812, the building i ...

, in February 1854. In February 1859 Nathaniel Marsh of the

Company purchased the lease on behalf of the Pavonia Ferry Company. He started a ferry which ran from Chambers Street (Manhattan) to the foot Pavonia Avenue on the other side of the

. Legal problems had prevented the Pavonia Ferry Company from establishing a ferry along this route. The New York and Erie Railroad paid an annual rent of $9,050 to transport passengers back and forth. Eventually the railroad constructed its Pavonia Terminal on the land-filled Harsimus Cove. Suburban and long distance travelers would transfer from trains to boats for the passage across the river. Its final two routes from the terminal across the Hudson to

Lower Manhattan Lower Manhattan (also known as Downtown Manhattan or Downtown New York) is the southernmost part of Manhattan, the central borough for business, culture, and government in New York City, which is the most populated city in the United States with ...

were to

Chambers Street Ferry Terminal The Chambers Street Ferry Terminal was the Erie Railroad's main ferry slip on Manhattan and the point of departure and embarkation for passengers in New York City. The terminal was one of several operated by ferry companies and railroads that l ...

and 23rd Street. New York Waterway re-introduced service to Pier 79 at West 39th Street on December 1, 2006. Service officially ended January 2014. Ferry service is being restored in the Summer of 2019.

Streetcar

Numerous streetcar lines served the station. Eventually they (and indeed all of Hudson County lines) were operated by the

Public Service Railway Transport of New Jersey (TNJ), earlier Public Service Transportation and then Public Service Coordinated Transport, was a street railway and bus company in the U.S. state of New Jersey from 1917 to 1980, when NJ Transit took over their operations ...

. The Grove Street, which operated between Exchange Place and

Hudson Place (Hoboken) The following is a list of county routes in Hudson County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. For more information on the county route system in New Jersey as a whole, including its history, see County routes in New Jersey In the U.S. state of Ne ...

, passed nearby. The Pavonia and the Crosstown originated at the station. The

Hudson Bergen Light Rail Hudson may refer to: People * Hudson (given name) * Hudson (surname) * Henry Hudson, English explorer * Hudson (footballer, born 1986), Hudson Fernando Tobias de Carvalho, Brazilian football right-back * Hudson (footballer, born 1988), Hudson R ...

Pavonia/Newport Station opened in 2002, and is located one and half blocks west of the PATH system.

H & M tube station

Originally named "Erie", the PATH's Newport station, originally built by the

(H&M), still bears the letter "E" engraved on its pillars. Opened on August 2, 1909, the station was built with only the island platform. The side platform was added around 1914 to handle the heavier passenger volume. It was closed in 1954 in order for the bankrupt railroad to reduce costs. The side platform remained dormant for nearly 50 years. The northernmost stairway exit from the two platforms led to a steep passageway, which originally went directly to the Erie Railroad terminal. In the 1920s, a second passageway and mezzanine area was built over the existing platforms and northbound trackway. This second passageway and mezzanine area were also closed in 1954 (as was also the entrance to/from Henderson Street), but was reopened in the late 1980s/early 1990s after the station was renovated. Also in 1954, the first

moving sidewalk Moving or Movin' may refer to: Moving of goods * Relocation (personal), the process of leaving one dwelling and settling in another * Relocation of professional sports teams * Relocation (computer science) * Structure relocation Music Album ...

, or travellator, in the United States was installed. Named the "Speedwalk" and built by Goodyear, it was long and moved up a 10-percent grade at a speed of . The walkway was removed a few years later when traffic patterns at the station changed.

Site

The complex was built on the northern portion of landfilled Harsimus Cove. The southern part was the

Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad (reporting mark PRR), legal name The Pennsylvania Railroad Company also known as the "Pennsy", was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was named ...

abattoir A slaughterhouse, also called abattoir (), is a facility where animals are slaughtered to provide food. Slaughterhouses supply meat, which then becomes the responsibility of a packaging facility. Slaughterhouses that produce meat that is no ...

and freight yard. A narrow slip kept that name, while another called the Long Slip was created and separated it from

. The only visible trace of the Erie's waterfront complex that remains today is part of the right of way/viaduct which carried trains from the foot of the Palisades escarpment to the waterfront. Part of it runs parallel to Boyle Plaza (the toll plaza for the

Holland Tunnel The Holland Tunnel is a vehicular tunnel under the Hudson River that connects the New York City neighborhood of Hudson Square in Lower Manhattan to the east with Jersey City in New Jersey to the west. The tunnel is operated by the Port Author ...

) and is used for motor vehicular traffic to the Newport district of Jersey City.Erie ROW
/ref>

References

External links

New York Times 1873 Terminal fireNew York Times 1903 terminal relocationNew York times 1903 letter listing ferries
Evolution of the

New York Harbor New York Harbor is at the mouth of the Hudson River where it empties into New York Bay near the East River tidal estuary, and then into the Atlantic Ocean on the east coast of the United States. It is one of the largest natural harbors in ...

ferries
Overview of rail companies serving Hudson Waterfront

Departure from terminal (video)New York, Lake Erie, and Western Jersey City Passenger Terminal 1886meeting to discuss better service 1879Paterson and Newark Railroadand ''Pavonia'' collisionMap of Erie System 1884
{{NYC terminals Former Erie Railroad stations Railway stations in New Jersey Former New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway stations Demolished buildings and structures in New Jersey Former railway stations in New Jersey Railway stations in the United States opened in 1861 Railway stations closed in 1958 Ferry terminals in New Jersey Ferries of New Jersey Ferries of New York City Water transportation in New York City Railway stations in Hudson County, New Jersey Hudson River Transit hubs serving New Jersey Demolished railway stations in the United States Buildings and structures in Jersey City, New Jersey 1887 establishments in New Jersey 1958 disestablishments in New Jersey Railway stations serving harbours and ports