How many visitors does Liberty State Park receive each year?
Liberty State Park draws approximately 4.5 million visitors per year as of 2025, making it the most visited state park in New Jersey and one of the most visited in the United States.
Questions about Liberty State Park
Short answers, pulled from the story.
What was the Black Tom explosion at Liberty State Park?
The Black Tom explosion struck what is now Liberty State Park in 1916, killing as many as seven people and causing $20 million in property damage. The blast was felt across the entire Tri-State Region.
How many immigrants passed through the Communipaw Terminal at Liberty State Park?
An estimated 10.5 million immigrants passed through the Communipaw Terminal, roughly two-thirds of all those processed at Ellis Island. The terminal served the Central Railroad of New Jersey, the Reading Railroad, the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, and the Lehigh Valley Railroad from 1889 to 1964.
What is the Empty Sky memorial at Liberty State Park?
Empty Sky is the official New Jersey state memorial to the victims of the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center. Designed by Jessica Jamroz and Frederic Schwartz, it features two parallel walls engraved with victims' names oriented to face the former World Trade Center site. It was dedicated on the 10th of September 2011, marking the tenth anniversary of the attacks.
What famous movies were filmed at Liberty State Park?
Liberty State Park and the Central Railroad of New Jersey Terminal have been used in several major films. The Godfather (1972) includes the "Leave the gun. Take the cannoli" exchange filmed at the site in 1971, featuring characters Peter Clemenza and Rocco Lampone. Funny Girl shot the "Don't Rain on My Parade" sequence in the CRRNJ Terminal in 1968, Men in Black (1997) depicted a scene on Morris Pesin Drive, and the final scenes of the 2014 adaptation of Annie were also shot at the park.
Who founded Liberty State Park and when did it open?
Audrey Zapp, Theodore Conrad, Morris Pesin, and J. Owen Grundy, four Jersey City residents working as environmentalists and historians, spearheaded the movement that created Liberty State Park. The land was transferred from the city to the state in 1965, and the park opened in 1976 to coincide with the United States bicentennial.