As immigration to the United States spiked in the 18th and 19th centuries, travel through New York rose with it. New immigrants sought to come through New York on their way to a better life, and prosperous Americans wanted to travel and explore the old world.

With this increased transport came steamship companies, each jockeying to earn the custom of those traveling both ways. They set up their offices on what was then called Steamship Row in downtown Manhattan. Passengers would go to these buildings to buy fares and secure accommodations on ocean liners.

As travel became more profitable, the steamship companies moved to more luxurious accommodations. The new offices, like this one owned by the Hamburg-American Line, were symbolic of the businesses growing importance and wealth.

With growing demand, the Steamship companies wanted to expand to allow for greater harbor capacity. However, there was a problem, the Army, with full control over the size of piers, refused to permit the pier line (length of the piers into the Hudson) to be extended. Moreover, the companies didn't want to build above 23rd street (where there was space) due to the lack of infrastructure.

New York solved the problem with an interesting solution. Instead of adding, they subtracted. The City decided to remove a full section of landfill that had been added in 1837, extending Manhattan to 13th Avenue. This involved the condemning a full block of land, leaving only the West Washington Market.

In these blocks' place arose Chelsea Piers. Officially called the Chelsea Improvement Section, the New York Department of Docks and Ferries supervised the pier entrances replacement off the previously run-down waterfront structures. Designed by Warren and Wetmore, the architecture firm famous for Grand Central Station, the piers were grand buildings with pink granite facades.

The piers would become home to some of the most prominent steamship lines: such as Cunard, and the White Star line. It was here that their opulent steamships would take on their passengers and their cargo. Two pivotal events o fworld history were inseparably linked to the piers.

It was Pier 59 that the White Star Line's RMS Titanic was headed towards when it made its fateful journey in April of 1912. Furthermore, it was at Pier 59 that the Cunard Line's RMS Carpathia dropped off the lifeboats of the Titanic.

The Carpathia (seen here docked at Pier 54) then proceeded to unload the Titanic's Survivors at Cunard's Pier 54.

Nor was this the end of Pier 54's link to tragedy. The RMS Lusitania, pictured here in New York Harbor, was based out of that same pier. It was torpedoed by the German Submarine U-20 after leaving Pier 54 in May of 1915, killing 1198 people and bringing the United States into World War 1.

The Chelsea Piers were the hub of New York's travel until a new luxury liner row was built further uptown in the 1930s.

This new row between 44th Street and 54th was able to handle larger steamships like the S.S. Normandie and soon became the main cruise terminal for New York.

Following their replacement as the luxury piers of New York, Chelsea Piers became used for cargo and eventually troop deployments during World War II.

Though there were multiple plans for the Chelsea piers following their post-war obsolescence, they eventually became home to a private-public partnership that turned them into the recreation center that they are today.