 Pier A is the sole historic pier left in Manhattan. A three-story pier head was added in 1900, an in 1919 a clock was installed in the tower in memorial of the soldiers who died in World War I. The clock was the first WWI memorial in the United States. The pier underwent a major renovation in 2010 and expects to receive LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification. 

Pier A

 The pier was briefly featured in the 1965 thriller Mirage with Gregory Peck and Diane Baker. 

The New York City Fire Department used the pier from 1960 to 1992 as a fireboat station.

The pier was expanded in 1900 and again in 1919 with a clock installed in the pier's tower as a memorial to 116,000 US servicemen who died during World War I. The clock is a ship's clock and was donated by Daniel G. Reid, founder of United States Steel Corporation. The clock was unveiled at noon on January 25, 1919 by Rear Admiral Josiah S. McKean, with speeches made by Mayor John Francis Hylan and Docks Commissioner George Murray Hulbert. It is said to be the first World War I memorial erected in the United States.