Staten Island Ferry

This was my favorite day during Layne and Kris' visit. We took a ride on the Staten Island Ferry. Brian and I've ridden the ferry a few times before, but have never gone farther than the ferry terminal on the other side. This time, I went with Layne and Kris and we wanted to walk around and explore Staten Island a bit.

We got off the subway and walked into the Staten Island Ferry Whitehall Terminal on the Manhattan side. This terminal was reopened in 2005 after a complete renovation.  Its interior is big and spacious and the many windows let in an abundance of light. 

I always love to see the over-sized flag hanging above the escalators that lead up to the terminal's second, and main, floor.

We were a little early for the ferry, so we purchased a slice of pizza from one of the vendors in the terminal, then sat down to eat our pizza and wait. Soon, a boat pulled up and began to offload its passengers. We wandered over to the sliding glass doors, to line up with the rest of the passengers. It's not really an organized thing -- everyone just crowds together in front of the doors. When the doors open, there is a mad rush to board, so we had to hang on to each other in order to stay together as we walked up the ramp and onto the ferry's second level. 

We headed up to the ferry's third floor (deck?) and walked along its right side (the one facing the Statue of Liberty). We made our way slowly to the back of the boat and stood against the railing taking pictures. I love the churning water at the back of the ferry.

The ferry travels five miles on one trip across the harbor and it takes about 25 minutes. It's a fun ride and offers amazing views of the surrounding areas. Like I said, the day was gorgeous -- cloudless blue skies and a warm temperature with a hint of cool and crisp fall air.

We had a great view of Manhattan's south end as the ferry moved across the water toward Staten Island. The new Freedom Tower (the tallest building in the picture below) makes all the other skyscrapers seem short and insignificant.

After a while, we moved over to the left side of the ferry and stood against the railing to observe the surrounding sights. We had a great view of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge that connects Brooklyn and Staten Island. The bridge is named after the Italian explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano, who in 1542 entered the New York Harbor as the first European to do so. The second part of the bridge's name comes from the water it spans, called the narrows. This bridge was completed in 1964, and at that time was the longest suspension bridge in the world. It has a length of 4,260 feet (60 feet longer than the Golden Gate Bridge) and two decks. Today, it is the eleventh longest bridge in the world, and the longest bridge in the Americas. It is considered the gateway to the New York Harbor, because all ships that wish to enter the harbor have to pass underneath it, and must be short enough to do so.

The bench seats on the ferry's decks fill up fast as does the space along the railing, so you have to be quick to get a good spot. On the way over, we stayed mostly on the side opposite of the Statue of Liberty, which wasn't as crowded. Plus it was the middle of the day on a Monday.

We got off the fairy and wandered our way out onto the actual Island. We found this pretty building across the main street just south of the terminal. It is the Staten Island Borough Hall, the island's municipal building that was built in 1906. We didn't go inside, but after looking up what it was, I discovered that its interior contains 13 murals that illustrate various events in Staten Island's history. The murals where painted by a local artist in 1940. 

We headed west along the same street (Richmond Terrace) in search of the September 11 Memorial. On our way we passed by the Richmond County Bank Ballpark, the home of the Staten Island Yankees. They are a minor league baseball team and affiliate of the New York Yankees. The ballpark sits on the edge of Staten Island, and behind it you can see across the harbor to Manhattan. The people sitting in its stands would have amazing views of the city.

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The walkway down to the Staten Island September 11 Memorial sits just on the west side of the ballpark. Standing at the top of the walkway, you can look down through the memorial and see that it frames the site in Manhattan where the twin towers once stood.

The memorial is called Postcards because the two white, 30-foot high structures are meant to represent large postcards to loved ones. The memorial was designed by architect Masayuki Sono, who won the 2003 design competition. It was built in 2004 and dedicated on September 11 of that year.

There were multiple U.S. Flags flying around the memorial and the planters were full of beautiful blooming plants.

On the interior wall of each "postcard," we found the names of those that the memorial honors.

There are 274 names in all -- those of the Staten Island residents who died in the 1993 Trade Center Bombing and the 9/11 attacks. Inscribed on each plaque is the person's name, birth date, and where they worked. Occasionally we found a picture, pin, or other small memento placed on the stone against a plaque.

It was a little while before we realized that the stone silhouettes where all different, and that they were the actual silhouettes of the people killed. Each person's stone silhouette sits to the right of their name. To me, that made the memorial even more sobering and brought the names to life.

In front of the memorial, against the surrounding fence were two larger flags, and this beautiful memorial wreath. I'm sure they always keep the area nice, but the extra flowers, ribbons, and maybe even some of the flags were there because it was only four days after the anniversary of the attacks.

After visiting the memorial, we decided to head back to Manhattan. We had wanted to visit the Staten Island Botanical Garden, but it is closed on Mondays -- the day that we were there. (I have plans to go back as soon as I have a free day.) We followed the boardwalk that runs along the water's edge from the memorial to the ferry terminal. We waited around in the terminal for a bit while the next ferry docked, then we boarded with the waiting crowd.

We took our places on the second deck, standing against the railing on the side that would face the Statue of Liberty. As we moved across the harbor, a coast guard boat came speeding up next to us. I heard some people standing next to me wonder if we were going to "get boarded," but the boat just sped on by. The gun on the front of the boat looked intense.

As we came closer to Lady Liberty, I snapped a few pictures. It's always a treat to get to see her. After four years of living here and seeing her multiple times, I'm still not tired of the experience. But each time I think how much taller I expected her to be. Don't get me wrong, she is still a big lady, but I think that I always just expect her to be so much taller than her base. Regardless, she still stands firm day after day, as a symbol of the freedom of our country. She has done so for the last 128 years, since her dedication in 1886.

On our way over we passed another ferry crossing in the opposite direction. I was curious about the Staten Island Ferry's origins so I did some quick research and thought I would share what I found.

The Staten Island Ferry has evolved over the years into the organized transportation service that it is today. Travel across the harbor first began in the 18th century when sail-boat owners carried passengers back and forth between Manhattan and Staten Island for a fee. In the early 1800's, Daniel D. Tompkins (the United States' sixth Vice President) helped create a charter for the Richmond Turnpike Company, that (among other responsibilities and rights) gave them the charge to build a highway across Staten Island and run a ferry to New York City. In 1817, the company begun to run the first motorized ferry across the harbor. Cornelius Vanderbilt (who's brother-in-law captained the first ferry) bought control of the company in the 1850's and then later sold it to the Staten Island Railway (run by his brother). In the early 1900's after another turnover and a few accidents, the City of New York took control of the ferry.

During the 20th century, the ferry cost a nickel to ride (the same as the city's subway fare). In 1975, the fare was raised to 25 cents for a round trip, then raised again in 1990 to 50 cents per round trip. In 1997 the fare was dropped completely, and since then it has remained free to ride.

As the ferry makes it way across the harbor, you get to see the Statue of Liberty from a few different angles. Here is another shot of her, more straight on this time.

I love riding the ferry, not only because I get a great view of lower Manhattan, the Statue of Liberty, and the bridges, but I also get to see all the different boats in the harbor. For the first 28 years of my life, I lived in a land locked state. I've visited the ocean a few times here and there, but not enough to become accustomed to huge bodies of water and the huge ships that go with it. So I always love it when we are near the water here in NYC because it always seems new and exciting to me. There were a few sailboats in the harbor this time along with the other ferries and passenger boats making their way to Liberty Island and Governors Island. But this time, I got to see a tug boat in action. It was really cool.

I happened to look up at some point along our return journey and found that the ceiling was packed with life vests. I'm glad we didn't need them.

This is the first time I've taken the ferry since the One World Trade Center Building (it's official name which is the same as the northern twin tower that was destroyed on 9/11), also called Freedom Tower, was finished. We had a beautiful view of it. It is 104 stories and 1,776 feet tall, making it the tallest skyscraper in the Western Hemisphere and fourth tallest building in the world. It's height in feet is a nod to the year that the Declaration of Independence was adopted by the Continental Congress.

One of the highlights of the ferry journey for me occurs on the return to Manhattan. As you get closer, the buildings loom large above you and you can't get a better view of the south end of the city.

I still can't believe we live here.