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On the West Side Highway, across from Little West 12th Street, is the White Star pier, #54. It was part of the original Chelsea Piers complex. The Titanic was scheduled to land here, but instead the Carpathia arrived with the survivors of the disaster. A few years later, the Lusitania left from this same place, on its last voyage. |
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To the left is the original ChelseaPiers, in an image from about 1904. You can see the steel archways. This shows the northern end of the piers- pier 54 was is a few blocks south. It's the last remnant of this huge complex. It's amazing that it has survived so long, and that the one archway that's left has such historical significance. Unfortunately, I've heard that it's slated for demolition. |
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| Here's Pier 54 in 1940. The men are longshoremen who are there for a 'shapeup"- where the boss chooses who among them will get to work that day. You see scenes like this in the movie "On the Waterfront" |
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Today, you can still make out the words "White Star" and "Cunard" , superimposed over each other (see below). Cunard bought the White Star Line before the Lusitania sailed. |
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