2. One PATH terminus reveals a hidden part of waterfront history

Lackawanna Hoboken Terminal
Erie Lackawanna rail terminus in Hoboken, NJ

Across the Hudson River, an ornate and historic building juts out along the pier. In Hoboken, NJ the stunning Hoboken terminal railroad building hearkens back to an earlier time when most of New York City’s waterfront served as receiving and shipping stations for freight to and from New York City’s suburban areas to the metropolitan center. (The popular High Line on Manhattan’s western edge also once served this function.) Built by the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western railroads in 1907, the structure was designed by architect Kenneth MacKenzie Murchison.

Hoboken’s terminal building is the second busiest in New Jersey after Newark Penn station, and the various buses, light rails, commuter trains, suburban trains and ferries departing the terminal regularly see 50,000 visitors daily. The building is one of the final remaining train structures along the Hudson River waterfront: a common sight two generations ago.