{"id":5143,"date":"2026-03-30T20:09:42","date_gmt":"2026-03-30T20:09:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh-wordpress.ramapo.edu\/discovering1920s\/?p=5143"},"modified":"2026-04-06T15:52:30","modified_gmt":"2026-04-06T15:52:30","slug":"holland-tunnel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh-wordpress.ramapo.edu\/discovering1920s\/blog\/2026\/03\/30\/holland-tunnel\/","title":{"rendered":"Holland Tunnel"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Overview<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

One of the more important events of the twenties was the construction and eventual opening of the Holland Tunnel, which occurred on November 13, 1927. The tunnel was New York City’s  first Underground tunnel for automobiles. Their East River tunnels were underwater but they were only for trains. This tunnel revolutionized transportation by connecting New York and New Jersey via automobile and truck transit. The tunnel also was the first underwater tunnel that had mechanical ventilation. Prior to this most would take boats or bridges to get to either location either state from the other. The need for the project was that cars became more accessible to those in the middle class, which thus created traffic issues especially in urban areas. This innovative infrastructure sped up traffic and caused economic growth on both sides of the Hudson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Challenges<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

  In order for the design of the tunnel to be settled Clifford Holland had to argue with fellow engineer George Goethals. Holland was born on March 13, 1883. Holland graduated from Harvard University.  Holland gained critical experience when he worked on the two East River tunnels as an assistant engineer.  Holland had less prestige and seniority than Goethals did, thus making him the underdog between the two.  Holland believed that the tunnel should be constructed using two smaller tubes, while Goethals believed that it should be built using one large tube.  Holland’s plan here was argued to be less expensive. This was because any increase in the width of the tunnel would cause more of an expense due to the great increase in the amount of sand, mud, etc that would have to be removed. Holland’s plan also had advantages that were not that clear at first.  For one the entrances and exits of the twin tunnels could be widely apart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 This was the key to traffic relief.1<\/a><\/sup>Gillespie, Angus. Crossing Under The Hudson, (2011), pg16,17,18. <\/span>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 The Turning Point<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The turning point finally came when General George George R. Dyer issued a public statement endorsing Holland’s plan.  This occurred in March of 1920. What Dyer said was important, as he had the respect of both of the commissions. Dyer picked Holland’s plan because he believed that it would create better traffic conditions than Goethals plan would.  Due to Dyer’s prestige he was able to convince all of the commissioners to agree to Holland’s plan.  In order for this to be official Holland had to still go through some meetings. “Chief Engineer C. M. Holland, whose plan is the most likely to be finally adopted by the commission, will be present.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With this victory, it might have seemed Holland’s troubles were behind him, but this was not the case for him or the Tunnel Commission, as the project was very politically involved.  The Tunnel Commission had to acquire property for the project. Owners who were satisfied with the deal they got could simply accept the value they were paid.  Those owners who did not agree with this value could go to the Court of Claims and litigate the amount of money that should be given to them. On the surface this procedure seemed fair and ethical, however it did not go smoothly.  For instance some properties had been bought by speculators, hoping to make a boat load.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 While not easy to prove it is reasonable to assume that Tammany Hall used this situation to their advantage.2<\/a><\/sup> Gillespie, Angus. Crossing Under The Hudson, (2011), pg19,20,21 <\/span>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

New York issues<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

This issue of land went beyond money as there were also concerns related to emotion, sentiment, and history. For one, on the New York side there were bitter protests from architectural historians and local residents. This was because some of the land the tunnel would take included 2 blocks of old substantial mid nineteenth century homes that were located near St Johns Park. These houses were substantial as they had things like old fashioned stoop entrances, colonial doorways with fluted iconic columns, etc.  A disgruntled local resident said \u201cI can remember St. John\u2019s Park with its grand old trees and the fine houses around it, but the new tunnel will probably drive us.\u201d3<\/a><\/sup> Gillespie, Angus. Crossing Under The Hudson, (2011), pg22 <\/span>.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    New Jersey Issues<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Things however on the other side of the river were worse.Much of the land that was to be used consisted of run down buildings that were owned by shell companies that had connections with the corrupt city government and the corrupt Hudson County machine. The man behind this, Frank Hague, was a political boss. He was born on January 17, 1876 in Jersey City NJ. He served as the Democratic Mayor of Jersey City NJ. He held this title for eight terms, from 1917 to 1947. The judges were not able to stop this corruption as they were appointed by the governor who owed his office to Hague as the Hudson county political machine could assist the governor in elections, which in turn meant Hague vetted the judges. This thus resulted in property owners receiving extremely inflated prices. Mayor Hagues of Jersey City also influenced the New Jersey Commissioners to threaten to stall the project unless significant confessions were made for street improvements.  Despite this Holland came up with a plan to get around this corruption.The plan was to have a secret groundbreaking ceremony with a few selected members of the press there to cover it.  This plan ended up happening on May 31, 1922 The thought behind this was that once the project was known by the public it would be harder for Frank Hague to stop its progress. Gillespie, Angus. Crossing Under The Hudson, (2011), pp. 22-24 . The plan was indeed successful for this reason.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Booth and Flinn<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The Tunnel Commission hired Booth and Flinn as they had done similar projects to the Holland in an effective manner. This ultimately ended up being even more important than what their bid was, as it was not the lowest one.  These contractors were one of the largest contracting companies of that era. More specifically they had experience in building tunnels under the East River.  The first tunnel especially was built safely as only one person died from caisson disease, decompression sickness, etc.  It should be noted though that these tunnels were much smaller than the Holland and that they were used for trains. Despite this George Flinn suffered some financial losses. To prevent this Flinn aimed for the project to be completed in 36 months.4<\/a><\/sup> Gillespie, Angus. Crossing Under The Hudson, (2011), pg25,26,27 <\/span>. The project instead was completed by 1927 which was well past this marker. <\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Two
Two construction workers work to tighten a rivet Getty images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

The construction was done by blue collar workers, with basic examples of this being mechanics and material handlers who simply moved materials around to different workers. The project overall consisted of as many as 10,000 jobs. Workers known as Sandhogs were tasked with excavating the tunnel. These workers were mostly Irish, but some of them were Italian, English, German, etc.  The Job of Sandhogs were one of the more important elements of the project.   With this importance combined with the risk of their job, their safety was taken seriously even by the media. \u201cBut what of the unsung heroes who actually dug the tunnel- the sand Hogs, who laid down their lives, too?\u201d 5<\/a><\/sup> \u201cAlexander Herman, \u201cGREAT VEHICULAR TUNNEL UNDER THE HUDSON OPENS SOON,\u201d Buffalo Courier Express, Oct 30,1927, pg11 <\/span>.  Some of the Sandhogs were members of LIUNA which stood for International Union of North America. This overtime contributed to this job becoming highly sought after. For one, sandhogs working on this project were paid 8.50 a day which in comparison to other blue collar workers throughout the country was good money. These workers were not always pleased as some of them went on strike to complain about the bends. This condition could only be improved by shortening the hours of exposure to it.  The strike was short lived as Booth and Flinn knew that in order to make money they could not afford a long delay, thus the company gave into the workers demands.6<\/a><\/sup> Gillespie, Angus. Crossing Under The Hudson, (2011), pg31,pg 35 <\/span>. <\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Early
The first steel caisson at the Staten Island shipyard getting launched, with its purpose being for excavating and lining under the Hudson River of the tube used for vehicles for the Holland Tunnel. Getty images.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Despite the real work of the tunnel finally in full motion there was yet another problem that arose. Clifford Holland tragically died of exhaustion and heart failure,  just a few days prior to when the dynamite blast allowed for the tunnel to link New Jersey and New York.7<\/a><\/sup> \u201cJoy Over Tube Success Dampened by Death of Master Builder,\u201d Daily News, Oct 31,1924, pg 17 <\/span>.  More specifically he died on October 27, 1924.  This was especially unfortunate since it was at the peak of his career.8<\/a><\/sup> “Holland’s Greatest Work \u201cHoled Through\u201d,\u201d, The Herald News, Oct 31, 1924, pg 16  <\/span>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Leadership changes<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    There was going to be a big celebration for the accomplishment of connecting the two states but out of respect for Holland this did not occur. After this lieutenant Milton H. Freeman replaced Holland as the chief engineer. Holland had an unusually close relationship to Freeman. The relationship was based on friendship, loyalty and respect. Holland was a charismatic leader who energized those around him. Milton was also dedicated and hard working like Holland but he ran the ship in a more bureaucratic way then Holland did.  A little more than a year later tragedy struck again. Milton H. Freeman died of acute pneumonia on March 24, 1925.  Unfortunately there was no time for tunnel engineers to mourn the Freemans loss, as there was no letup in the pressure to complete the job. Ole Singstad was now made the chief engineer. Singstad previously during the project had been mostly working on the design of the ventilation system. Singstad had no time to reflect on the fact that he was now the chief engineer as the work was moving too quickly.9<\/a><\/sup> Gillespie, Angus. Crossing Under The Hudson, (2011), pg 42,43 44 <\/span>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Holland Tunnel sneak previews<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There were a number of sneak peak tours as the tunnel was nearing completion. These tours were for VIPs. In August of 1926 prior to the opening of the tunnel, New York Governor Al Smith and New Jersey Governor Arthur Harry Moore of New Jersey rode through the tunnel. The two governors also used this opportunity to take a photo op, as each governor stood under the sign that represented their state. It was very clean and well lit by this point.  Some of the other attendees included engineers, two busloads of military officers, etc.10<\/a><\/sup> Gillespie, Angus. Crossing Under The Hudson, (2011), pg, 45,46 <\/span>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tunnel Rules<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

When the tunnel was finally nearing its opening there was much anticipation. A newspaper from the time said \u201cA new era of prosperity is about to dawn on Jersey City\u201d Before the tunnel was to be opened though there were some administrative tasks that needed to be done. These tasks consisted of regulations that needed to be developed and rates that needed to be set. Early 1927 a committee of the commissioners was set up to deal with the issue of rate setting. The tolls for motor vehicles would have to cover maintenance, salaries, and amortization.  The commissioners held the belief that the tolls should be low enough to attract motorists, but not low to the point in which the ferry service would be put out of business. The debates about what the toll price should be dragged on for months. By November 1, 1927 this issue had been resolved and the toll for the tunnel was announced. For regular automobiles it was 50 cents regardless of the amount of passengers. Motorcycles were charged 25 cents. Buses meanwhile were charged 1 dollar. For trucks the price was weight dependent. Trucks that were small paid 50 cents, while very large ones that were 10 to 12 tons paid 2 dollars. Other notable regulations were that smoking was prohibited in the tunnel, and that certain vehicles like bikes and pushcarts were not allowed in the Holland.11<\/a><\/sup> Gillespie, Angus. Crossing Under The Hudson, (2011), pg 47,48 <\/span>.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Holland Opening<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

On November 12, 1927 the tunnel finally opened. There was a schedule of festivities associated with this big day. At 2:30 p.m. there were ceremonies on the Jersey Plaza, at 3:30 p.m. ceremonies were occurring on the New York Plaza, and at 7pm there were fireworks.12<\/a><\/sup> \u201cProclamation!\u201d, The Jersey Journal, November 3, 1927, 21.<\/span> The Tunnel was open for pedestrians from 5p.m. to 7 that day. This was for walking not yet driving. The day prior the tunnel was thoroughly cleaned and inspected. The elites of the project also had events. The New York Party at noon for instance featured the likes of Governor Al Smith and tunnel commissioners. Later this group went through the tunnel to Jersey City, where various speeches were being given by religious leaders, Ole Singstad, etc. Also present were NJ government officials such as Frank Hague and governor Moore.13<\/a><\/sup> Gillespie, Angus. Crossing Under The Hudson, (2011), pg 49 <\/span>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Representation Of The Decade<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The Holland Tunnel project certainly fits broader themes about the decade. The tunnel was needed as cars became more accessible to the middle class. The fact that the tunnel was built by blue collar workers fits the concept of the twenties and other previous decades. The fact that the Holland was built by immigrants also fits the decade itself and many previous ones as many Americans did not want these jobs. Innovation was of course a main theme of the twenties with a lot of newly used technology. This is especially clear with the Holland tunnel as it was a massive technological success that was thought to be not possible in many decades prior to the twenties. The corruption that temporarily got in the way of the project is representative of corrupt urban governments of the time and of decades prior.      <\/p>\n\n\n\n