While visiting New York City in late October 2018 for my dad’s 60th birthday, we went up one of the skyscrapers of Manhattan, like a good tourist, to take a look at the concrete jungle for inspiration. Actually the whole city was almost demanding attention from every corner and I felt like I had do it good for a memorable experience of the Big Apple with an Empire state of mind. Despite having grown up in Istanbul and being used to the historical monuments, colorful daily life and flocks of crazy tourists, Manhattan still dazzled me.
As I was looking at the dwarfed Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, Hudson River and far beyond, I saw a train station lacking its rails. This was the New Jersey Terminal. I later learned that it was built in 1889, to replace its 1864 predecessor, and was operational until 1967.
It was fascinating for me to imagine a railroad right at the entrance point of the so called American Dream of masses, that got connected to the other end of the continent. Among the docks of New Jersey, it would surely be a most logical location for a terminal for the masses coming to the United States for the first time, whose destination was not immediately New York, as well as goods to be distributed to the inland.
Well of course seeing a terminal by the water was nothing new for me. The same concept of a train station by the docks also existed in Istanbul. Built in 1872, Haydarpaşa Railway Station was my favorite building in my hometown, which is not operational at the moment either since 2012. Part of it was burned in 2010. Both train stations in ruins...
Then I began to think of the similarities of New York City and Istanbul: an old city by the water where rich and poor coexist, bridges connecting the land, boats to cross the water that go up and down the waves, never ending skyscraper constructions, historical monuments, culturally diverse neighborhoods, museums, art galleries, restaurants, street food, night clubs and all that jazz. Yes, I felt somewhat at home in New York. Yet it is still beyond comparison.
If I go to New York again, I will definitely visit the museum of New Jersey Terminal for more inspiration.
And guess what? There is a huge car parking lot where the rails were used to be. This is an example of the US economic policy to prioritize the gas market through one car per person suggestion for the public.
