Will the Powerhouse still be the Powerhouse without her most distinctive feature?
P
icture this: Mount Rushmore without that guy with the wooden teeth. Lady Liberty without her torch. Big Ben without her clocks. The Taj Mahal without her dome. You get the picture. Well, that’s what the future holds for the Powerhouse, which is set to lose—you guessed it—her smokestacks. In our Spring/Summer 2011 issue, we did a cover story on the Powerhouse, which featured Camilo Godoy’s haunting images. At that time, we promised to keep you updated on what’s going on with Jersey City’s most iconic structure. Bob Antonicello, executive director of the Jersey City Redevelopment Agency, called a few months ago to deliver the unfortunate news. “The stacks have to come down,” he said. “They’ve been significantly degraded structurally over the years.” The concern is that one or more stacks could collapse, damaging a wall of the structure.
16 • Jersey CITY Magazine ~ FALL & WINTER 2012/13