Battery Maritime Building Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids Significant dates

Municipal Ferry Pier
U.S. National Register of Historic Places


Location	10 South St., Manhattan, New York
Area	less than one acre
Built	1909 (1909)
Architect	Walker & Morris; Snare, Frederick
Architectural style	Beaux Arts
NRHP reference No.	76001246
Added to NRHP	December 12, 1976

The Battery Maritime Building is a historic ferry terminal in New York City. It is located at the southern tip of Manhattan Island, at 10 South Street. This beautiful building has been used for ferry trips to Governors Island since 1956. It was built between 1906 and 1909 and was originally called the Municipal Ferry Pier. The building is known for its special Beaux-Arts style. In 1976, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places.

What Does the Battery Maritime Building Look Like?
What is the History of the Building?
How is the Building Used Today?
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What Does the Battery Maritime Building Look Like?

Whitehall Street Ferry Terminal in the 1970s

The Battery Maritime Building was designed by a company called Walker and Morris. They used many different types of metal to build it. These included cast iron, steel, zinc, and copper. The ceilings under the porch roof have special Guastavino tiles. This building is the only ferry building in Manhattan that still looks like the ones from the 1889 World's Fair in Paris.

From the water, you can see three ferry piers with large steel arches. These arches are held up by four decorative columns called pilasters. Each pier entrance has fancy swinging gates that can close. The steel parts of the building have many cool designs. These include patterned lattice work, raised moldings, and strong cross braces. The building also has a top floor with many windows and a balcony facing the land. This balcony has a detailed railing.

The building used to have a wide staircase leading to a large waiting room upstairs. From this room, people could directly connect to the elevated train station and Lower Manhattan. The terminal had three ferry slips, numbered 5, 6, and 7. The lower part of the building was used for wagons and cars to load onto the ferries.

What is the History of the Building?

View of the ferry slips, numbered 5 through 7

The Battery Maritime Building was built from 1906 to 1909. It replaced an older building that had been there since 1887. Both the old and new buildings were used for ferries going to 39th Street in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. That's why it was first named the Municipal Ferry Piers to South Brooklyn.

The ferry service to Brooklyn stopped on March 15, 1938. After that, the large building was used by different city offices. In 1959, the Department of Marine and Aviation started using it. Over the years, the building's original colorful paint was changed to a color that looked like the green-blue of the Statue of Liberty.

In 1956, the U.S. Army began using the terminal. They used it to get to Fort Jay, an Army base on Governors Island. The Army needed bigger docks for their new, larger ferries. So, they moved their ferry operations to the Battery Maritime Building. When the United States Coast Guard took over Governors Island in 1966, they also used the terminal. They carried people and vehicles to the island until 1996.

Between 2001 and 2005, the building got a big makeover. The outside of the building and its old wooden piers were fixed. The outside was painted back to its original many colors. This restoration cost $36 million.

How is the Building Used Today?

During the summer, public ferries to Governors Island leave from Slip 7 of the building. These ferries are run by the Trust for Governors Island, a group created by New York City. They use two boats, the Lt. Samuel S. Coursen and the Governors 1. Ferry service usually runs from May to October.

Another ferry company, NY Waterway, also uses Slip 5 during busy morning and evening hours. They offer commuter service to Port Liberté in New Jersey. Other NY Waterway services leave from a different pier nearby.

In 2009, a company called Dermot Construction won a bid to turn part of the building into a hotel. After some delays, including Hurricane Sandy in 2012, the project got new funding in 2018. A group including Cipriani S.A. was chosen to open the hotel. The plan is for the hotel to have 70 rooms and a space for events on the second floor.