Pier 25
West Street, New York, NY 10013
So, yeah, I’m writing about a pier this week instead of a building. I don’t want to hear any “but Sara, a pier technically isn’t a building” bullshit from you guys. Piers are buildings, hotdogs are sandwiches, let’s all just grow up a little, okay? Anything is real if we say it is. And I really like this place, so cuss right off if you have a problem with that. It’s a structure and/or a place and I, the boss, say that counts. “Place of the Week” just doesn’t have that certain jenny say “quah” about it.
You’ll find piers scattered about the sides of Manhattan, all with something to offer. From sightseeing, to concert venues, to mini golf, there’s a bounty of fun activities to enjoy on New York’s piers. Hell, I even got engaged on a pier!
This pier is part of a larger collection of waterfront parks & activities called Hudson River Park. It stretches from 59th Street allllll the way down to me in Battery Park City! *thicc Italian accent* “thatsa lotta park!” I personally find that name to be a little bit bullshit since it’s more of a walkway connecting small grassy areas and various piers than a park, but whatever. The walking path continues to stretch all the way up the west side of the island and provides views of stunning ✨New Jersey✨
Pier 25 has an impressive stuff-to-space ratio. There is a full-fledged mini golf course, which my dearest friend Ceceli and I visited this week and it was only slightly depressing. I think if literally any of the many water features were on (it’s fully May, so why weren’t they on??), it would feel less sad. Quote from their website: “There’s a full 18-hole course featuring waterfalls, streams, a pond, footbridges, sand traps, and even a cave!” They talk a big game about those water features considering none of them were on. But overall we had a blast and it was only 12 bucks!! And that’s pretty much free in New York dollars.
My introduction to this pier was from their beach volleyball courts. Parker has been playing in an outdoor volleyball league for as long as we’ve lived here. It’s a super cool spot to hang out & watch his games and I’ve even gotten to play in a few! I’m pretty dogshit at beach volleyball though, I thrive more on solid ground. You might think this sand would be super gross, but it’s surprisingly pretty well-maintained and very soft.
Have you ever been eating at a restaurant and thought, “Wow, I wish everything was moving around and I was nauseous”? Well, look no further than the Grand Banks restaurant. This floating restaurant sits atop the Sherman Zwicker, an old fishing boat that used to sail the North Atlantic in the Grand Banks fleet. This boat is also the largest wooden vessel in NYC! Neato! For those of you who don’t know, I get deathly seasick so this is pretty much my worst nightmare. Like I said, I thrive more on solid ground. And let me tell you, the Hudson River is the opposite of smooth sailing. Every time I walk by this restaurant, she is MOVIN!! If you can miraculously stand essentially being on a mild rollercoaster while eating, this is a very beautiful spot to grab dinner & watch the sunset.
An old lady named Lilac has been docked here for quite some time. And by lady, I of course mean a historic steamboat. She is a retired Coast Guard cutter (fancy word for boat) who carried supplies to lighthouses and maintained buoys from 1933 to 1972. She is America's only surviving steam-powered lighthouse tender and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Icon status!!
In 1995, the pier was converted from an old shipping & manufacturing dock to a family-friendly destination. In the fall of 2005, the pier entered its makeover era with the help of Manhattan Youth. They sought out to make a pier so lively, so slay, and so … long? This is the longest pier in all of Hudson River Park. Now remember, using the term “park” here is more of a metaphor than anything else. Similar to how this pier is featured in a “building” of the week newsletter. Nonetheless, we move on - 6 years later! In 2011, the pier reopened and has been thriving ever since.
Fun Facts
They recently opened a really cool play area with big ol’ fish you can play on/ inside of. A big part of my childhood was traveling to cool parks like this and I just know my cousins and I would’ve had a blast here.
Pier 25’s neighbor, Pier 26, has man-made tide pools that were built to promote the local wildlife (not talking about the rats and pigeons, but they probably enjoy this too)
In 1989, a huge fucking iguana sculpture hung out here for a year. Because why not?
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this is how I feel about this building of the week