STATEN ISLAND FERRY:

The First 100 Years of Municipal Service

Our new permanent exhibit explores the history, art, people and sites of our floating icon.

Celebrate "the Boat" on its 100^th birthday.

Exhibit Sponsor: The Staten Island Advance

Whitehall Terminal with Ferryboat and skyline 1930s. From the Postcard Collection of the Staten Island Museum.

Whitehall Terminal with Ferryboat and skyline March 2005. Photo by Henryk J. Behnke. Staten Island Museum.

Commencing with the celebration of the Ferry's Centennial Anniversary (in municipal service since October 25, 1905), the Staten Island Museum (formerly known as the Staten Island Institute of Arts and Sciences) is opening a new permanent exhibition accompanied by contemporary art and a variety of programs for children and families celebrating one of NYCs best-loved icons (the Ferry is the second most visited site in NYC after the Statue of Liberty, with over 65,000 people riding the ferry each day).

Located a 5-minute walk from the renovated St. George Ferry Terminal with a new ramp that has visitors squarely approaching the Museum building, the Staten Island Museum has long been the interpreter of the Staten Island Ferry. Our Ferry Collection was initiated by our Co-Founder William T. Davis, whose grandfather, John C. Thompson, was superintendent of the then privately-operated Staten Island Ferry from the 1850s to 1870s. Having operated a small museum at the St. George Ferry Terminal for nearly two decades (prior to the current reconstruction of the terminal), we know that the topic of the Staten Island Ferry is of great interest to children and adults alike.

Reaffirming the organization's long standing commitment to this national icon, on October 27, 2005, the Staten Island Museum will unveil the first phase of a new permanent exhibition, Staten Island Ferry: The First 100 Years of Municipal Service, featuring a wealth of photographs, art works, ship models and artifacts from past ferries. At an initial 500 square feet, this will be the first step in the development of the permanent 1,200 square foot exhibition, scheduled to open in 2008.

This initial installment captures some of the history, presents art depicting the ferry, reviews the sites from her rail, clarifies the varying classes of ferryboats, displays ferry artifacts and ephemera, and salutes the lives of her passengers. We hope you will enjoy watching this permanent exhibit expand and grow richer over the next several years.

In 1905, a nickel bought a ride aboard one of the new coal burning city steam ferries, each named for a borough of New York. These new boats were laden with early commuters, assorted livestock, and city folk looking for respite from urban life. The trip took roughly 22 minutes, at an even 16 miles per hour, across the 5.2 miles of Upper New York Bay between the St. George Terminal in Staten Island and the Whitehall Terminal in lower Manhattan.

Today "the Boat" carries over 19 million passengers annually on a 5.2-mile run. There is no longer a fee. On a typical day 104 trips move upward of 65,000 people cross the harbor, making the Staten Island Ferry the most reliable form of mass transit in the city, if not the country. Boats run 24 hours a day, 365 days a year - regardless of holidays, foul weather, system failures, or the wake of terrorist attacks; the diesel electric powered boats are rarely interrupted.

Captured in art, literature, film, and music, the Staten Island Ferry has become a New York icon. A ride on the ferry, second only to the Statue of Liberty, is a favorite destination for tourists and its image in an unofficial symbol of the borough.

This exhibition is supported by a major grant from the Achelis Foundation with additional support from the Staten Island Advance.