Status: Progress Made
County: Hudson
Additional Features:
UPDATES:
03/04 The Powerhouse was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in November 2001. Preservation advocates continue to lobby for its listing on the New Jersey Register and also for the owners to undertake a restoration with a suitable adaptive use for this property which retains a high degree of integrity.
06/2009: A great deal of debate has arisen around who will pay to relocate electrical transformers remaining inside the Powerhouse. However, the Jersey City Redevelopment Agency (JCRA) and the Port Authority have initiated a stabilization project. This JCRA says the project is designed to halt further decline of the building while the Port Authority relocates the transformers. Officials hope the Powerhouse will anchor a revived arts district of the same name, which, as recently as six years ago, was a thriving center for the arts in Jersey City.
5/2010: Initial stabilization of the Powerhouse is underway, including an extensive conditions assessment of the building, the clearing out of debris from the interior, removal of a number of hazardous and unstable structural elements, the boarding up of the many standard and monumental windows throughout the building, and emergency stabilization work on the east side of the building. The next phase of the stabilization work will provide a new temporary roof for the entire building. Additional structural repairs and brick masonry & terra cotta repairs are also anticipated for this phase. Current plans are to rehabilitate the Powerhouse into a “destination art and entertainment mixed use center.”
DESCRIPTION:
The Hudson and Manhattan Railroad Powerhouse energized the railroad’s Hudson tunnels, the first subway line that in 1908 physically connected New Jersey and New York. Designed by John Oakman, this monumental yet elegant Romanesque revival industrial building was erected between 1906 and 1908 and was one of the country’s most technologically advanced power stations. The esteemed engineering firm of L.B. Stillwell designed both the Powerhouse’s structural steel work and its’ electrical machinery. Power plant threatened with demolition if it continues to deteriorate.
1906-08 built to house generators for Hudson and Manhattan Railroad (PATH) including tunnels, stations and NY Terminal; world’s largest office building of its time. Architecturally huge (ten-stories tall, 46,000 SF), the exterior is dark red brick with five-story tall steel framed windows; terra cotta tile trim; flat roof with iron balustrade. Now vacant and exposed to elements. Jersey City Master Plan calls for its preservation; Port Authority threatened to demolish it if commuter sub-station is damaged by its deterioration.
CONTACT:
John Hallanan, President
Jersey City Landmarks Conservancy
285 Monmouth Street
Jersey City, NJ 07302
jclandmarks@gmail.com
www.jclandmarks.org