Exchange Place, Jersey City
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Exchange Place is a district of
Downtown Jersey City Downtown is an area of Jersey City, New Jersey, which includes the Historic Downtown and the Waterfront. Historic Downtown Historic Downtown was an area of mostly low-rise buildings to the west of the waterfront, but by the 2000s a number of ...
,
New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...
that is sometimes referred to as
Wall Street West Wall Street West is a name used by real estate developers, city officials, and news media in the United States to call particular streets or places west of Manhattan, New York City that have a high concentration of Wall Street financial compani ...
due to the concentration of financial companies that have offices there. The namesake is a square, about 200 feet long, at the foot of Montgomery Street at the waterfront of the
Hudson River The Hudson River, historically the North River, is a river that flows from north to south largely through eastern New York (state), New York state. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains at Henderson Lake (New York), Henderson Lake in the ...
. This square was created by landfilling the shore at
Paulus Hook Paulus Hook is a community on the Hudson River waterfront in Jersey City, New Jersey. It is located across the river from Manhattan. The name Hook comes from the Dutch word "hoeck", which translates to "point of land." This "point of land" has ...
, and has been a major transportation hub since the colonial era.


Vicinity

A high concentration of highrise office and residential buildings in the city are located in the district radiating from Exchange Place, which since the 1990s has overtaken
Journal Square Journal Square is a business district, residential area, and transportation hub in Jersey City, New Jersey. It is named for the newspaper ''Jersey Journal'', whose headquarters were located there from 1911 to 2013. The "square" itself is at the ...
as
Hudson County Hudson County is a List of counties in New Jersey, county in the U.S. state of New Jersey, its smallest and most densely populated. Lying in the northeast of the state and on the west bank of the North River (Hudson River), Hudson River, the No ...
's major business district and become a major business center along the redeveloped waterfronts in the
Port of New York and New Jersey The Port of New York and New Jersey is the port district of the New York metropolitan area, New York-Newark metropolitan area, encompassing the region within approximately a radius of the Statue of Liberty National Monument. It includes the sy ...
. The Mack-Cali building is host to several nesting sites for
peregrine falcon The peregrine falcon (''Falco peregrinus''), also known simply as the peregrine, is a Cosmopolitan distribution, cosmopolitan bird of prey (raptor) in the family (biology), family Falconidae renowned for its speed. A large, Corvus (genus), cro ...
s. The
Hudson River Waterfront Walkway The Hudson River Waterfront Walkway, also known as the Hudson River Walkway, is a promenade along the Hudson Waterfront in New Jersey. The ongoing and incomplete project located on Kill van Kull and the western shore of Upper New York Bay and t ...
crosses Exchange, the other side of which is J. Owen Grundy Park, extending into the
Hudson River The Hudson River, historically the North River, is a river that flows from north to south largely through eastern New York (state), New York state. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains at Henderson Lake (New York), Henderson Lake in the ...
. The Katyń Memorial by
Polish-American Polish Americans () are Americans who either have total or partial Polish ancestry, or are citizens of the Republic of Poland. There are an estimated 8.81 million self-identified Polish Americans, representing about 2.67% of the U.S. population, ...
artist
Andrzej Pitynski Andrzej is the Polish form of the given name Andrew. Notable individuals with the given name Andrzej * Andrzej Bartkowiak (born 1950), Polish film director and cinematographer * Andrzej Bobola, S.J. (1591–1657), Polish saint, missionary and ...
is the first memorial of its kind to be raised on American soil to honor the dead of the Katyń Forest massacre. In early May 2018, Holocaust survivor
Edward Mosberg Edward Mosberg (January 6, 1926 – September 21, 2022) was a Poland, Polish-born American Holocaust survivor, educator, and philanthropist. During the Holocaust, he was held by the Nazis from 14 years of age in Kraków Ghetto, Kraków-Płaszów ...
co-signed a letter asking Jersey City Mayor
Steven Fulop Steven Michael Fulop (born 1976/1977) is an American politician serving as the 49th mayor of Jersey City, New Jersey. A Democrat, he was formerly the Councilman for Jersey City's Ward E. Fulop was first elected mayor on May 14, 2013, defeating ...
not to remove the Katyń Memorial from Exchange Place in the city, writing: "The memory of the Katyn massacre is an important part of the memory and memories of the Holocaust and we encourage you to reconsider your decision to remove this monument." To the south are
New York Waterway NY Waterway, or New York Waterway, is a private transportation company running ferry and bus service in the Port of New York and New Jersey and in the Hudson Valley. The company utilizes public-private partnership with agencies such as the Port ...
's Paulus Hook Ferry Terminal, and the two tallest buildings in New Jersey; the Goldman Sachs Tower and 99 Hudson. The Colgate Clock, promoted by
Colgate-Palmolive The Colgate-Palmolive Company, commonly known as Colgate-Palmolive, is an American multinational corporation, multinational consumer products company headquartered on Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The company specializes in ...
as the largest in the world, faces
Battery Park The Battery, formerly known as Battery Park, is a public park located at the southern tip of Manhattan#Manhattan Island, Manhattan Island in New York City facing New York Harbor. The park is bounded by Battery Place on the north, with Bowling ...
in lower Manhattan. The clock, which is in diameter with a minute hand weighing 2,200 pounds, was erected in 1924 to replace a smaller one that was relocated to a plant in
Jeffersonville, Indiana Jeffersonville is a city and the county seat of Clark County, Indiana, Clark County, Indiana, United States, situated along the Ohio River. Locally, the city is often referred to by the abbreviated name Jeff. It lies directly across the Ohio Riv ...
. The riverfront promenade, which provides vistas of
Lower Manhattan Lower Manhattan, also known as Downtown Manhattan or Downtown New York City, is the southernmost part of the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Manhattan. The neighborhood is History of New York City, the historical birthplace o ...
, continues along the Morris Canal Little Basin, part of
Liberty State Park Liberty State Park (LSP) is a park in the U.S. state of New Jersey, located on Upper New York Bay in Jersey City, New Jersey, Jersey City opposite Liberty Island and Ellis Island. The park opened in 1976 to coincide with United States Bicenten ...
. To the north is the former warehouse now housing
Harborside Financial Center Harborside is a mixed-use residential, retail, and office complex in the Exchange Place district of Jersey City, New Jersey located on the Hudson Waterfront. The majority of the buildings were originally owned and managed by Veris Residential, ...
.


History

As early as July 1764 a ferry began operating from
Paulus Hook Paulus Hook is a community on the Hudson River waterfront in Jersey City, New Jersey. It is located across the river from Manhattan. The name Hook comes from the Dutch word "hoeck", which translates to "point of land." This "point of land" has ...
to Mesier's dock which was located at the foot of Courtland Street (where
Cortland Street Ferry Depot Cortlandt Street Ferry Depot was the main ferry terminal of the Pennsylvania Railroad and the West Shore Railroad on the North River (Hudson River) in lower Manhattan. The railroads operated ferries to their terminal stations on the Hudson River ...
would be built) and where
Battery Park City Ferry Terminal The Battery Park City Ferry Terminal, is a passenger ferry terminal in Battery Park City, Manhattan, serving ferries along the Hudson River in New York City and northeastern New Jersey. It provides slips to ferries, water taxis, and sightseei ...
is located today. The first steam ferry service in
New York Harbor New York Harbor is a bay that covers all of the Upper Bay. It is at the mouth of the Hudson River near the East River tidal estuary on the East Coast of the United States. New York Harbor is generally synonymous with Upper New York Bay, ...
and the world was established in 1812 by
Robert Livingston (1746-1813) Robert Robert Livingston (November 27, 1746 ( Old Style November 16) – February 26, 1813) was an American lawyer, politician, and diplomat from New York, as well as a Founding Father of the United States. He was known as "The Chancellor" aft ...
and
Robert Fulton Robert Fulton (November 14, 1765 – February 24, 1815) was an American engineer and inventor who is widely credited with developing the world's first commercially successful steamboat, the (also known as ''Clermont''). In 1807, that steamboat ...
and traveled between
Paulus Hook Paulus Hook is a community on the Hudson River waterfront in Jersey City, New Jersey. It is located across the river from Manhattan. The name Hook comes from the Dutch word "hoeck", which translates to "point of land." This "point of land" has ...
and Cortlandt Street in
Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...
. The ferry dock stood at the head of the important highway to Newark (and points west and south) established in 1795. The ferry in turn influenced the location of the terminal of the
New Jersey Railroad The New Jersey Rail Road and Transportation Company was an early railroad company in the state of New Jersey. It was incorporated in 1832 and opened its first line in 1834, making it one of the oldest railroads in North America. It was consolidat ...
, which opened in 1838 running from the ferry dock via Newark to
New Brunswick New Brunswick is a Provinces and Territories of Canada, province of Canada, bordering Quebec to the north, Nova Scotia to the east, the Gulf of Saint Lawrence to the northeast, the Bay of Fundy to the southeast, and the U.S. state of Maine to ...
. The railroad purchased the ferry operation in 1853 and in 1858 built a much-needed larger
intermodal terminal Intermodal passenger transport, also called mixed-mode commuting, involves using two or more mode of transport, modes of transportation in a journey. Mixed-mode commuting is often used to combine the strengths (and offset the weaknesses) of va ...
. After acquiring the railroad in 1871, the
Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad ( reporting mark PRR), legal name as 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. At its ...
replaced the
terminal Terminal may refer to: Computing Hardware * Computer terminal, a set of primary input and output devices for a computer * Terminal (electronics), a device for joining electrical circuits together ** Battery terminal, electrical contact used to ...
in 1876 and yet again in 1888–1892. Passengers could move directly between the trains and ferries without going outside (a similar plan can still be seen today at
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 eight NJ Transit (NJT) commuter rail lines, an NJ T ...
). The railroad referred to the location simply as Jersey City, and if necessary to distinguish it from other railroads' terminals, as the
Pennsylvania station Pennsylvania Station or Penn Station may refer to: Current train stations * Baltimore Penn Station * New York Penn Station ** Pennsylvania Station (1910–1963), the predecessor to the present New York City station * Newark Penn Station Trai ...
. It was probably the street railways, the local transportation in Jersey City, that first needed to identify the location more precisely as Exchange Place. Beginning with
horsecar A horsecar, horse-drawn tram, horse-drawn streetcar (U.S.), or horse-drawn railway (historical), is a tram or streetcar pulled by a horse. Summary The horse-drawn tram (horsecar) was an early form of public transport, public rail transport, ...
s in 1860, the local network connected the ferry with neighborhoods in the city and nearby towns. An off-street terminal called "Exchange Place" was established in 1891. It was almost at the water's edge, across the street from the Pennsylvania Railroad terminal and with easy access to the ferries. Cars with signs reading EXCHANGE PLACE could be seen all over town. In 1901, the privately held land was given to the city by the PRR. The
Hudson and Manhattan Railroad The 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 owne ...
opened its tunnels from Exchange Place to New York in 1910. Significantly, the station was at first called "Pennsylvania Railroad Station", not Exchange Place, but by 1916 the name was expanded to include "Exchange Place". By 1926 the H & M station was simply "Exchange Place". The Pennsylvania Railroad did not officially give in until some years later, but all the stations, and the neighborhood, were firmly known as Exchange Place by the 1920s. For many years the location functioned similarly to Hudson Place, farther up the Hudson waterfront, as a terminus for the many trolley lines which crisscrossed
Hudson County Hudson County is a List of counties in New Jersey, county in the U.S. state of New Jersey, its smallest and most densely populated. Lying in the northeast of the state and on the west bank of the North River (Hudson River), Hudson River, the No ...
, as well as for those which traveled farther, from destinations such as the Newark Public Service Terminal, or the Broadway Terminal in Paterson. At one time more than ten lines 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 operatio ...
originated/terminated here. The substitution of rail lines with busses, colloquially known as
bustitution A rail replacement bus service uses buses to replace a passenger train service on a temporary or permanent basis. The train service that is replaced may be of any type such as light rail, tram, streetcar, commuter rail, regional rail or heavy r ...
, was completed in 1949. Ferry services were also discontinued in 1949, and while the Pennsylvania Railroad service dwindled after the opening of
Penn Station Pennsylvania Station or Penn Station may refer to: Current train stations * Baltimore Penn Station * New York Penn Station ** Pennsylvania Station (1910–1963), the predecessor to the present New York City station * Newark Penn Station Train ...
in New York in 1910, it did not end until 1962. Following the end of service on the Jersey City Branch, the remains of the large terminal were demolished, leaving a large open space on the waterfront. This and the elimination of other railroad passenger and freight yards along the river during the 1960s and 1970s opened up the land that would be used for redevelopment. The continued use of the name "Exchange Place" was based on the Hudson and Manhattan station (
PATH A path is a route for physical travel – see Trail. Path or PATH may also refer to: Physical paths of different types * Bicycle path * Bridle path, used by people on horseback * Course (navigation), the intended path of a vehicle * Desir ...
since 1962) and signs on the bus routes that had replaced the trolleys. Since 2000, both a trolley service, in the form of the
Hudson–Bergen Light Rail The Hudson–Bergen Light Rail (HBLR) is a light rail system in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. Owned by New Jersey Transit (NJT) and operated by the 21st Century Rail Corporation, it connects the communities of Bayonne, Jersey City, ...
, and a ferry service, provided by
NY Waterway NY Waterway, or New York Waterway, is a private transportation company running ferry and bus service in the Port of New York and New Jersey and in the Hudson Valley. The company utilizes public-private partnership with agencies such as the Por ...
at the Paulus Hook Hook Ferry Terminal, have been restored. It is also the terminus for several New Jersey Transit and privately operated bus routes.


Transportation


Pennsylvania Railroad Station


PATH

PATH A path is a route for physical travel – see Trail. Path or PATH may also refer to: Physical paths of different types * Bicycle path * Bridle path, used by people on horseback * Course (navigation), the intended path of a vehicle * Desir ...
service from Exchange Place runs east to the
World Trade Center World Trade Centers are the hundreds of sites recognized by the World Trade Centers Association. World Trade Center may also refer to: Buildings * World Trade Center (1973–2001), a building complex that was destroyed during the September 11 at ...
, north to
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 eight NJ Transit (NJT) commuter rail lines, an NJ T ...
, and west to
Journal Square Journal Square is a business district, residential area, and transportation hub in Jersey City, New Jersey. It is named for the newspaper ''Jersey Journal'', whose headquarters were located there from 1911 to 2013. The "square" itself is at the ...
and
Newark Penn Station Newark Penn Station is an intermodal passenger station in Newark, New Jersey. One of the New York metropolitan area's major transportation hubs, Newark Penn Station is served by multiple rail and bus carriers, making it the seventh busiest rai ...
.


HBLR

Three stations of the
Hudson–Bergen Light Rail The Hudson–Bergen Light Rail (HBLR) is a light rail system in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. Owned by New Jersey Transit (NJT) and operated by the 21st Century Rail Corporation, it connects the communities of Bayonne, Jersey City, ...
in the district are
Harborside Financial Center Harborside is a mixed-use residential, retail, and office complex in the Exchange Place district of Jersey City, New Jersey located on the Hudson Waterfront. The majority of the buildings were originally owned and managed by Veris Residential, ...
,
Essex Street Essex Street is a north–south street on the Lower East Side of the New York City borough of Manhattan. North of Houston Street, the street becomes Avenue A, which goes north to 14th Street. South of Canal Street it becomes Rutgers Street, ...
and Exchange Place, where transfer to
PATH A path is a route for physical travel – see Trail. Path or PATH may also refer to: Physical paths of different types * Bicycle path * Bridle path, used by people on horseback * Course (navigation), the intended path of a vehicle * Desir ...
and ferry are possible.


Paulus Hook Ferry Terminal

The ferry that started in 1764 became known as the
Jersey City Ferry The Jersey City Ferry was a major ferry service that operated between Jersey City in New Jersey and Cortlandt Street in lower Manhattan for almost 200 years (1764-1949). The ferry was notable for being the first to use steam power which began in ...
, but after nearly 200 years of service, the last regular ferry service across the Hudson ended in the 1960s. Service was revived in 1986, and today the Hudson's ferries are operated by
New York Waterway NY Waterway, or New York Waterway, is a private transportation company running ferry and bus service in the Port of New York and New Jersey and in the Hudson Valley. The company utilizes public-private partnership with agencies such as the Port ...
and Seastreak.


Bus


In popular culture

The views provided along the waterfront are often featured as background images of
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
and
One World Trade Center One World Trade Center, also known as One WTC and as the Freedom Tower, is the main building of the rebuilt World Trade Center complex in Lower Manhattan, New York City. Designed by David Childs of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, One World Tr ...
that have been used for
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,
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, and
Emporis Emporis was a real estate data mining company with headquarters in Hamburg, Germany. The company collected data and photographs of buildings worldwide, which were published in an online database from 2000 to September 2022. Emporis was acquired ...
. The
EarthCam EarthCam, Inc. is a company based in Upper Saddle River, New Jersey, United States, that provides webcam content, technology and services. Founded in 1996, EarthCam.com is a network of webcameras offering a complete searchable database of views ...
webcam for One World Trade Center, which is placed on top of the Hyatt Regency Hotel, is viewed by millions every week and is occasionally used by local TV news stations. The 1998 film
Godzilla is a fictional monster, or ''kaiju'', that debuted in the eponymous 1954 film, directed and co-written by Ishirō Honda. The character has since become an international pop culture icon, appearing in various media: 33 Japanese films p ...
used the area that the Goldman Sachs Tower currently occupies as the location for a military base. The Exchange Place PATH station was used to film an episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, and the ending of the film
Sid and Nancy ''Sid and Nancy'' (also known as ''Sid and Nancy: Love Kills'') is a 1986 British biographical film directed by Alex Cox, co-written with Abbe Wool, and starring Gary Oldman and Chloe Webb. The film portrays the life of Sid Vicious, bassist of ...
was shot in the vicinity of Exchange Place near Harborside. A segment of
MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...
's "The Week in Rock" was filmed along the Exchange Place waterfront during an interview with
Queen Latifah Dana Elaine Owens (born March 18, 1970), known professionally by her stage name Queen Latifah, is an American rapper, singer, and actress. She has received various accolades, including a Grammy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, a Golden Globe ...
. The pier and its New York backdrop is commonly used in the 2021 series ''The Equalizer'' as the location where Robyn and William privately meet. The view of
Lower Manhattan Lower Manhattan, also known as Downtown Manhattan or Downtown New York City, is the southernmost part of the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Manhattan. The neighborhood is History of New York City, the historical birthplace o ...
from Exchange Place has been used for shots in the music video for
Demi Lovato Demetria Devonne "Demi" Lovato ( ; born August 20, 1992) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. After appearing on the children's television series ''Barney & Friends'' (2002–2004), she starred in the Disney Channel short series ...
's I Love Me and in the lyric video for Afrojack and David Guetta's song
Hero A hero (feminine: heroine) is a real person or fictional character who, in the face of danger, combats adversity through feats of ingenuity, courage, or Physical strength, strength. The original hero type of classical epics did such thin ...
.


See also

*
List of Public Service Railway lines The Public Service Railway operated the following streetcar lines in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Public Service assigned odd numbers to streetcar routes (as shown here) and even numbers to bus routes. Bergen Division Central Division Essex ...
*
List of ferries across the Hudson River to New York City The following ferries once crossed the North River (Hudson River), North River between New York City and New Jersey. There was no ferry service between 1967 and 1989, when it was restarted by New York Waterway. Row and Sail Horse ferries ...


References

{{NYC surface transit Neighborhoods in Jersey City, New Jersey
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
Streets in Hudson County, New Jersey Transportation in Hudson County, New Jersey New Jersey streetcar lines Bus transportation in New Jersey NJ Transit Bus Operations Transit hubs serving New Jersey Redeveloped ports and waterfronts in the United States Tourist attractions in Jersey City, New Jersey