Plans to join the banks of the Hudson River with a sub aqueous rail began soon after the Civil War. However, it was not until a half century later in 1904, when the Hudson & Manhattan Railroad Company finally realized this vision. As the rails were laid, investors were eager to see their seemingly ‘unlimited money’ turned into magnificent structures that would reflect America’s industrial power. The grandeur did not end with the terminals as Jersey City's Hudson & Manhattan Railroad Powerhouse is testament.
The Powerhouse was built between 1906-08 by John Oakman of Carrere and Hastings who formed classical architectural shapes (Romanesque windows, Greek crosses and pillared arcades) into a masterpiece of brickwork and steel. Now on the National Register of Historic Places, the Gilded and Industrial age will be refurbished and transformed with 21st century planning through the efforts of Baltimore based Cordish Companies. |
