On the right of the boat as it pulls away, is the 3,600-foot mouth of the
Hudson with the horizontal New Jersey towns along its west bank;
obliquely to the left and rear, the tremendous stone piers and airy web of
Brooklyn Bridge merge momentarily with Manhattan Bridge high above
the East River. Brooklyn, broad and amorphous, stretches away to the east
and south, coarse-fringed with ship's funnels and factory smokestacks. In
the mouth of the East River is the low-lying strip of Governors Island,
dominated by ancient, massive Castle Williams. Once past Governors, the
ferry is in the midst of scurrying traffic whose strident voice mingles
whistle blasts with the hollow clang of bell buoys and the screams of softly
wheeling gulls. Distance subdues the clamor; the bay is unexpectedly quiet.

To the west, the dull brick buildings of Ellis Island are banked low
against the Jersey shore. A little farther along, also well over on the New
Jersey side, the Statue of Liberty salutes Brooklyn from Bedloe Island. At
night the verdigris-coated statue is floodlighted from pedestal to torch.

For most of its route the ferry follows the Upper Bay's principal chan-
nel, Anchorage Channel, which runs from the Narrows to a point west of
Governors Island. At no place is this course less than forty feet deep and
at one point it is about one hundred feet deep. On either side, freighters
anchor to wait for dock space or for cargoes. Bay Ridge, Red Hook, and
Buttermilk channels follow the Brooklyn shore line into the East River.

Near little Robbins Reef Lighthouse, at the right, outbound ships swing
left through the Narrows and make for the ocean, but the ferry continues
to St. George, the community that clambers up Fort Hill. To the right the
Bayonne Bridge connects Staten Island and New Jersey, arching high
across Kill van Kull.

The return trip to the Battery is even more impressive. Manhattan's
slender shafts, poised on that narrow bit of land, seem to rise out of the
water in one solid pyramiding mass. As the ferry draws.closer they resolve
themselves into huge cubic blocks, glistening with windows. When night
conceals the shore line, the illuminated towers seem suspended in the dark.

Statue of Liberty and Bedloe Island

Boat leaves Battery every hour (every half hour on Saturday and Sunday during the
summer) ; round trip fare 35c for adults, 20c for children. Statue open daily
9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (to 6 p.m. in September and to 7 p.m. in June, July, and August) ;
admission 10c.

Perhaps the best-known piece of sculpture in America, Bartholdi's huge