The Old Ferry Depot Fire August 7, 1905

On the morning of August 7, 1905 a fire burned the old wooden ferry house and railroad station in a matter of hours. The fire started aboard the ferry, Hopatcong. Before the Hopatcong could be pulled away from her slip the shed caught fire and soon the whole complex was ablaze. The ferry Binghamton and the Duke's house restaurant were also destroyed in the fire. Immediately after the fire the Lackawanna ferries continued to use the slips but the trains terminated at Newark. People used Public Service trolleys to get from Newark to the ferry station.

The fire was, in fact, a blessing since plans had already been made for a new station and the major drawback to the project was how to the demolish the old station without interfering with the flow of the trains and ferries.

Posted February 1908

Posted August 29, 1905

Posted September 1905 .

This postcard was posted August 11, 1905, four days after the fire which destroyed the terminal.

Ruins of Duke's House, Hoboken

The Duke's House was a famous Restaurant and Tavern situated on the pier near the ferry. It had a reputation for fine food and service and catered to the likes of Lillian Russell, John L Sullivan and other prominent people of the times. It too was destroyed in the August 7 pier fire.

Posted September 1905

"Crowds went to look at the buiding holding the restaurant and saloon of Duke's house. The upper part of the structure was entirely burnt off. The wall of the ground story had been partially consumed, but in such a way that the bar itself was left intact. And there, within charred and blackened and broken walls, the bartenders were at work just as usual, with not one bottle missing out of the stock. Martin Daab, who owns the place, saw quickly the opportunity offered and rose to the emergency. The result was that this bar, which probably may be counted as unique, did a more thriving business yesterday than it has done for many a day."

New York Times August 9, 1905

Posted 1911

Construction began in March 1906. Fire prevention was a major concern. Concrete, steel, wrought iron and stone were used. Even the desks and racks in the ticket office were of metal, not of wood.

"The great building, having a frontage of 750 feet on the Hudson, was erected on piling with steel and concrete foundations. The waiting room and ferry concourse are on the main floor which is on the line of the tracks. The waiting room, 100 feet long and 90 feet in width, is finished in limestone and bronze. On the second floor are a restaurant, an emergency hospital and a barber shop. The restaurant, when completely finished, will be done in old gold and mahogany. It overlooks the river, and an outside dining room on the balcony, facing east, will be used in the summer months"

Romance of the Hoboken Ferry by Harry J Smith, Jr, 1931

"Lackawanna Terminal was the largest railway terminal along the banks of the Hudson and was also though to be the very best of its kind. The structure itself is actually the fifth station built on the same site. The current version, which opened in February 1907, was a grand successor to the four earlier stations, all of which burned down. It was linked to Manhattan by ferryboats and, after, 1908, by tunnels under the river. The 225-foot tower, which rose form the center of the terminal, was pulled down in 1948."

Hoboken History, the Magazine of the Hoboken Historical Museum, issue no. 23, 1999

My grandfather, Percy Land, lived in Hoboken in the late 1890s. In 1900 the family moved to Smithtown, Long Island. However, Percy and his father, Law Land, returned to Hoboken.

My dad always said the Lands had moved to Hoboken to work on the rebuilding the piers. The piers burned in 1900. It is possible that Law Land came back to Hoboken to work on the piers. However, Percy was only 15 in 1900.

The train station burned in 1905. It is possible that Law returned to Hoboken to work on the train station. It is almost certain the Percy returned to Hoboken to work on the train station. Percy was in Hoboken in 1906 as evidenced by a post card his mother sent him on November 17, 1906. Percy met his future wife, Meta Petermann, in Hoboken some time before New Years 1906/07.

Lackawanna Ferry, R. R. Station and Trolly Terminal, Hoboken, N. J.

Lackawanna R. R. Terminal and Ferry to New York, Hoboken, N. J.

The entrances to the ferries are on the left and the train station (the brown building) is on the right.

Not posted

Hand written on top "Here Feb - 24- 1912"

Lackawanna R. R. Terminal at Hoboken, N. J. The Waiting Room

The ceiling was 55 feet high. In the daytime natural light is transmitted through the skylight.

The new terminal viewed from the Hudson River.

Posted 1909

"Length of Front, Over 1,000 Feet, Height of Tower, 225 Feet, Cost $2,000,000, Connection With McAdoo Tunnel"

Lackawanna R. R. Ferry Slips, Hoboken, N. J.

For more information and images of the ferries between Hoboken and New York go to New York Ferries and THE END OF TRANS-CROSS HUDSON FERRY SERVICE both pages by Theodore W Scull

While the postcard is not dated, it post-dates 1907 when the train station tower was completed. This view is north towards Jersey City Heights.

Notice the trolleys on the elevated Ferry Street train trestle that went from the train station in Hoboken to the Hudson County Court House in Jersey City.

By the time the New Train Station was finished in 1907 the ferries ran from the Lackawanna Train Station in Hoboken to three distinctions in Manhattan:

1. Barclay Street in the financial district of lower Manhattan

2. Christopher Street in the West Village

3. West 23rd Street, midtown

Barclay Street, New York, Ferry House 1888 (Romance of the Hoboken Ferry by Harry J Smith, Jr 1931 )

New York - West Street and Jersey

End of sign reads: "KAWANNA & WESTERN R. R."