OUR WEST A brief history of the West SIDE STORY Side and Hudson River Park

Pre-European Contact 19th Century Early 20th Century 1973

The Original Canal All West Side Highway New Yorkers Era Aboard! Collapses Before New York, before Hudson River waterfront Some of the world’s most A section of the elevated New Amsterdam—there transforms into one of the celebrated ships—the West Side Highway collapses, was Lenapehoking, the world’s busiest working Lusitania, Carpathia, and bringing attention to NYC’s land of the Lenape, the waterfronts due in part the Normandie—came deteriorated infrastructure and original inhabitants. The to the opening of the Erie and went from piers in leading to plans for a never- Lenape people farm Canal and the advent of Chelsea and Hell’s Kitchen, built project called “Westway” tobacco and conduct the steamship. Oyster transporting soldiers, that would have filled in a trade along the lower barges proliferate along the celebrities, immigrants and portion of the Hudson River Hudson River. shoreline and oyster carts more to and from Europe. to create an underground are as plentiful as current interstate highway. day hot dog stands.

1985 1998 2018 2019

A Catchy A Park 20 Years #singleuseless Tale is Born Young HRPK launches Park Over New York State and New The Hudson River Park Hudson River Park Plastic, a multi-year York City halt plans for Act is signed into law— celebrates its 20th initiative to rid the Park of Westway due to political designating approximately Anniversary, attracting single-use plastics. pressure and community 150 acres of land and piers 20 million visits each year. concerns, including and 400 acres of water With 75% of the Park’s The River Project impacts to juvenile as a major, new park and 4-mile footprint complete, Merger striped bass. The State Estuarine Sanctuary— HRPK offers over 800 A pioneer in river and City begin discussing happy news for New cultural, educational and research and educational alternative solutions for Yorkers and the 70+ family programs annually. programming, The River Manhattan’s West Side species of fish in HRPK. HRPK’s Estuary Lab Project, merges with waterfront and piers. conducts original research the Estuary Lab making on oyster restoration and the Pier 40 Wetlab an microplastics. integrated part of HRPK's wildlife education. There's More to This Story 2020 & Beyond With the openings of Hudson River Park’s Pier 26 (the first pier to feature an “ecological get down”), Gansevoort Peninsula, Pier 55, Pier 57 and Pier 97—the completion of HRPK is now in sight!