Annotated Bibliography of New York Harbor History

titlecreatorcopyrightaccesspagesNotes
Heartbeats in the Muck: The History, Sea Life and Environment of New York HarborJohn Waldman1999alldefinitive popular science analysis of New York Harbor estuary
Historic Overview: from Target Investigations in Connection with the New York and New Jersey Harbor Navigator Project, Upper and Lower Bay, Port of New York and New Jersey, Kings, Queens, New York, and Richmond Counties, New York, Essex, Hudson, Monmouth and Union Counties, New Jersey Final ReportAndrew D.W. Lydecker and Stephen R. James, Jr., Panamerican Consultants, Inc.2004link5-18succinct overview of New York Harbor history followed by detail on surveys of harbor wrecks
The Rise of Port New YorkRobert Albion1939foundational academic text; Albion’s counter to the government received wisdom that the Erie Canal made the port; Albion argues that the packet shipping structure and warehousing cotton (grown by enslaved people) played a far larger role
A Maritime History of New YorkWPA Writers Project1941foundational popular history of New York Harbor, likely inspiration for public history to follow
The HarborErnest Poole1915fiction. Tale of a man’s lifelong relationship with the harbor from a Brooklyn Heights child to an advocate, to a planner…
Empire on the HudsonJameson W. Doig2001Biography of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey
South StreetBarbara Mensch2007photos and essays focused on Fulton Fish Market as it fought to remain on South Street
Round Manhattan’s RimHelen Worden1934Helen Worden’s account of her piecemeal walk around Manhattan’s shoreline with her friend (and socialite) Ruth Steinway in 1934. Extraordinary window into a moment just before Robert Moses shaped NYC to his will.
The New York WaterfrontKevin Bone2003an architectural perspective on the waterfront and waterfront communities
Waterfront ManhattanKurt Schilchting2018A history of the space where Manhattan’s land meets the estuary’s waters with a focus on the politics and engineering of landfill, seawalls, pier construction and maintenance (or lack thereof), and even occasional land removal from a sociological perspective
Harbor Voices: New York Harbor tugs, ferries, people, places, & more…Terry Walton2008People who spend time in, on, and next to the harbor in a page or two of their own words through the lens of South Street Seaport publications
Manhattan Water-BoundAnn Buttenwieser1987stories from the archives held in the basement of the Battery Maritime Building (really!) focused on social use of the waterfront, notably the recreation piers and swimming barges of the late 19th/early 20th Century
Waterfront: a walk around ManhattanPhillip Lopate2004history and literary review of everything that touches Manhattan’s shores, excellent bibliography for mining
Freight and the MetropolisRaymond Vernon1960comprehensive study of freight handling in the Port of New York and New Jersey at a moment of immense change
The LongshoremenCharles B. Barnes1915linkcomprehensive study of longshoremen with a profoundly racist second chapter
Tugboats of New York: an illustrated historyGeorge Matteson2005history of towing in the estuary from an insider’s perspective with academic quality
The Sloops of the Hudson River: a historical and design surveyPaul E. Fontenoy1995comprehensive history of the vessels that inspired Clearwater and river shipping from before
Ports and Terminal FacilitiesRoy S. McElwee1918linkResearch study of methods and equipment for freight handling in New York Harbor just as automobiles were starting to impact the work
The Accidental PlaygroundDaniel Campo2013account of the period between the end of the industrial waterfront and the start of the luxury housing waterfront
Creating the Hudson River ParkTom Fox2024detailed account of the transition from a North River accidental playground to a formalized park and how politicians harvested the real estate value without replenishing the park’s funding
New York Longshoremen: Class and Power on the DocksWilliam J. Mello2010the union struggle among New York harbor freight handlers
The Big Oyster: History on the Half ShellMark Kurlansky2006the popular history of oysters and oystering in the harbor
Railroad Ferries of the Hudson and stories of a deckhandRaymond J. Baxter & Arthur G. Adams1987detailed history of ferries operated by railroads to bridge the estuary before bridges and tunnels
Cain’s BookAlexander Trocchi1960fiction, based on a year the author spent as captain of a stone scow in the harbor estuary while writing the book and feeding his heroin addiction
Coat Hanger Christmas TreeEleanor Estes1973fiction, kid-lit, father of the main character’s best friend is the captain of a deck barge that transports Christmas trees to NYC
The Development of Dredging Through the 1850s.David F. Bastian1980link1-22definitive history of dredging in US for the period In On the History and Evolution of U.S. Waterways and Ports, National Waterways Round Table Papers, Proceedings. U.S. Army Engineer Water Resources Support Center, Norfolk, Virginia.