In the late 19th Century, the great American Poet Walt Whitman glorified the metropolitan ferry ride in his poem “Crossing Brooklyn Ferry.” In the poem, he revealed the ethnic diversity of its ridership and how proud it made him be a part of the budding democracy of the United States of America. In those days prior to the full construction of a bridge system and the everyday use of the subway, the ferry was the established means of transport between the five boroughs of New York City.
Much has changed about New York City commuter transportation since then, but one feature captured in the excerpt below remains true of that romantic period in commuter travel, and one can still have that experience on the Staten Island Ferry where three main vessels transport passengers upward of a 100 rides per day.
“On the ferry-boats, the hundreds and hundreds that cross, returning home, are more curious to me than you suppose,
And you that shall cross from shore to shore years hence are more to me, and more in my meditations, than you might suppose.” Walt Whitman, Crossing Brooklyn Ferry
While riding on board the Brooklyn Ferry and composing his poem, Whitman envisioned some 140 years ago what New Yorkers riding the Staten Island Ferry still experience today, and that is an experience of the democratic dream captured in a 20-minute ride across the Hudson River. Yes, the engine technology has changed through the years but the fact is, it hasn’t changed all that much. The basic framework of the bellied ferry boat and the roaring of the engines and the power of the foam it spits forth, are all still consistent with the present-day model of the Staten Island Ferry, a ferry system that has not downsized or modified its style like some of the other smaller and quicker ferry systems along the Hudson and the East Rivers.
The Staten Island Ferry offers a historic experience that remains utterly reminiscent of the same experience the daily commuter would have had during the very late 1800’s. In many regards, it is really the equivalent of what a trolley system would have offered had it still been in operation today: a romantic connection to the once upon a time of a budding nation.
Yes, the Staten Island Ferry has transferred ownership at least a dozen times since then but the essential experience is the same, even for the commuter who uses it day in and day out: a separation from the grind of the island of Manhattan, a fresh ocean breeze to intoxicate the senses, a passing of the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island as a daily reminder of the foundations of our nation, and lastly, an ongoing experience of the varieties of the many nations that continue to assimilate here and renew our democracy generationally.
For Whitman, as it is for the daily passenger, the Staten Island Ferry is an experience in time travel and in social history. It is an experience that no tourist should miss.