Liberty State Park
On
the New York Harbor, less than 2,000 feet from the Statue of
Liberty, Liberty State Park has served a vital role in the development
of New
Jersey's metropolitan region and the history of the
nation.
During the 19th and early 20th
centuries the area that is now Liberty State
Park was a major waterfront industrial area with an
extensive freight and passenger transportation network. This network became the
lifeline of New York
City and the harbor area. The heart of this
transportation network was the Central Railroad of New Jersey Terminal (CRRNJ),
located in the northern portion of the park. The CRRNJ Terminal stands with the
Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island to unfold one of this nation's most dramatic
stories: the immigration of northern, southern, and eastern Europeans into the
United
States. After being greeted by the Statue of
Liberty and processed at Ellis Island, these immigrants purchased tickets and
boarded trains, at the CRRNJ Terminal, that took them to their new homes
throughout the United
States. The Terminal served these immigrants as
the gateway to the realization of their hopes and dreams of a new life in
America.
Today, Liberty State
Park continues to serve a vital role in the New York Harbor area. As the railroads and industry
declined, the land was abandoned and became a desolate dump site. With the
development of Liberty State
Park came a renaissance of the waterfront. Land with
decaying buildings, overgrown tracks and piles of debris was transformed into a
modern urban state park. The park was formerly opened on Flag Day, June 14,
1976, as New
Jersey's bicentennial gift to the nation. Most of this
1,122 acre park is open space with approximately 300 acres developed for public
recreation. The CRRNJ Terminal has been saved and stands with the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island to form America's Historic Trilogy.
