Cortlandt Street Ferry Depot, ca. 1910

This marine terminal, built in 1891, housed ferries that brought passengers back and forth from Manhattan to New Jersey, at Exchange Place and Weehawken stations. This new terminal replaced the old ferry station built in 1856.

During this time, Pennsylvania Railroad began modernizing stations in New York and New Jersey, and addition to the bulk of their ferry fleet. The new Cortlandt Street Ferry Depot featured a 12-track, canopied train shed for coach passengers. A large concourse allowed train passengers to enter the harborside ferry slips, where they boarded through the upper-deck.

Prior to the depot's construction, the site was known as Mesier's Dock, where a ferry to Paulus Hook in Jersey City had been operating as early as the 1760s. It was founded by Abraham Mesier and Michael Cornelissen, who arranged with Cornelius Van Vorst to make a landing at Paulus Hook. Legal battles were waged over operators, crossings and passenger fares, as the founders had no legal authority to charter this route. They faced challenges from local officials in New Jersey for many decades.

The Cortlandt Street Ferry Depot discontinued ferry service at the end of 1949, and in the 1960s it was demolished after years of inactivity.