Did Fulton Street once run all the way to the Hudson River?
It must have, based on information gleaned from this undated postcard of the lower Manhattan skyline.
The Fall River Line, a steamboat between New York and Massachusetts, ran until 1937. Pier 14 was located at the foot of Fulton and West Streets, according to this 1938 Berenice Abbott photo of the street side of the pier.
And a check of an early 1960s Manhattan map confirms it: Fulton Street’s western end must have been demolished later that decade to build the World Trade Center.
Tags: Battery Park City, Berenice Abbott, Fall River Line, Fulton Street New York City, Hudson River history, Pier 14, steamships of New York City, vintage New York City postcards
Ephemeral New York 
August 8, 2011 at 3:34 pm |
Interesting post. I have seen a number of references to the Fall River Line in old books, but always assumed it was a train. Of course, no one can think of Fall RIver without Lizzie Borden and her shenanigans immediately coming to mind!
–Road to Parnassus
August 8, 2011 at 8:59 pm |
I think it was a combination steamship and rail line. I guess there was a lot of traffic between NYC and Fall River back in the day….
August 8, 2011 at 9:18 pm |
How cool is that! I love your blog.
August 8, 2011 at 9:32 pm |
Thanks EVI. I spend a good part of my life in the EV and yours is required reading for me.
August 9, 2011 at 7:59 pm |
yup. check out this article about radio row. there’s a map at the bottom that shows fulton going all the way through.
http://nyc-architecture.com/GON/GON031.htm
August 11, 2011 at 5:02 pm |
great link – thanks
August 10, 2011 at 1:46 am |
A painless introduction to the Fall River Line can be found online. See Baedeker guide to the U.S., published 1893.
Makes the 21st-century Chinatown-to-Chinatown bus trip sound like medieval torture.
April 28, 2018 at 12:42 am |
Are there any records of the employees working on this ship?