2019-04-27 - EverWanderWhy Hudson County Historic Tour I
17 walkers assembled at the Hoboken NJ Transit Train Terminal Waiting Room for my Hudson County Historic Tour I at 9:45 AM, Saturday, April 27. We talked a bit about the terminal before starting. More than 50,000 people use the terminal daily, making it New Jersey's second-busiest railroad station and its third-busiest transportation facility, after Newark Liberty International Airport and Newark Penn Station. The site of the terminal has been used since colonial times to link Manhattan Island and points west. Passengers traveling to Manhattan from most of the continental USA had to transfer to a ferry at the riverbank. The Delaware, Lackawanna, and Western Railroad built the modern terminal in 1907. At the peak of intercity rail service, five passenger terminals were operated by competing railroad companies along the Hudson Waterfront. Of these, Hoboken Terminal is the only one still in active use. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoboken_Terminal)
Our first stop on the beautiful day was the magnificent copper Samuel Sloan statue. Samuel Sloan (1817-1907) was the President of the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad between 1867 and 1899. Before working for the railroad, Sloan was an Irish immigrant linen importer. Sloan, a Presbyterian, stopped railroad operations on Sundays. In his early career he resided in Brooklyn, becoming a State Senator; he directed the Hudson River Railroad in 1855 and then the D, L&W in 1864. Under his leadership the railroad prospered in the freight business transporting anthracite from the coal fields of Pennsylvania and vacationers to the Pocono Mountains, then acquiring their reputation as a resort area. Eventually Sloan headed a total of seventeen corporations during his lifetime. When the George Bissell-sculpted statue was installed in 1899 (during Sloan’s lifetime) it originally faced the terminal. After complaints that Sam Sloan was “turning his back on Hoboken” it was realigned to its present position. (https://forgotten-ny.com/2016/03/who-is-that-guy-at-hoboken-terminal/)
We passed by Carlo's Bake Shop, a family owned bakery featured on the TLC hit show Cake Boss and which has received national recognition. This stands opposite to the Hoboken City Hall, designed by Francis G. Himpler and built in 1883 in a Second Empire structure modified to a Beaux Art Classicism design. The Brass Rail at the end of the street is known for paranormal activity. And the Hoboken Fire Department Museum nearby was created by Bill Bergin and volunteers from the Hoboken Fire Department. It is open to visitors every weekend between noon and 5 PM staffed by the Hoboken Historical Museum and filled with displays of vintage equipment, photographs and news clippings documenting the fires that tested the mettle of generations of Hoboken's firefighters. The building served as a firehouse in the 1880s, and as the meeting room for the "Association of Exempt Firemen."
Our first stop on the beautiful day was the magnificent copper Samuel Sloan statue. Samuel Sloan (1817-1907) was the President of the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad between 1867 and 1899. Before working for the railroad, Sloan was an Irish immigrant linen importer. Sloan, a Presbyterian, stopped railroad operations on Sundays. In his early career he resided in Brooklyn, becoming a State Senator; he directed the Hudson River Railroad in 1855 and then the D, L&W in 1864. Under his leadership the railroad prospered in the freight business transporting anthracite from the coal fields of Pennsylvania and vacationers to the Pocono Mountains, then acquiring their reputation as a resort area. Eventually Sloan headed a total of seventeen corporations during his lifetime. When the George Bissell-sculpted statue was installed in 1899 (during Sloan’s lifetime) it originally faced the terminal. After complaints that Sam Sloan was “turning his back on Hoboken” it was realigned to its present position. (https://forgotten-ny.com/2016/03/who-is-that-guy-at-hoboken-terminal/)
We passed by Carlo's Bake Shop, a family owned bakery featured on the TLC hit show Cake Boss and which has received national recognition. This stands opposite to the Hoboken City Hall, designed by Francis G. Himpler and built in 1883 in a Second Empire structure modified to a Beaux Art Classicism design. The Brass Rail at the end of the street is known for paranormal activity. And the Hoboken Fire Department Museum nearby was created by Bill Bergin and volunteers from the Hoboken Fire Department. It is open to visitors every weekend between noon and 5 PM staffed by the Hoboken Historical Museum and filled with displays of vintage equipment, photographs and news clippings documenting the fires that tested the mettle of generations of Hoboken's firefighters. The building served as a firehouse in the 1880s, and as the meeting room for the "Association of Exempt Firemen."
After meandering back to the water's edge, we walked through Pier C Park and continued along the Hudson River with views galore-the Manhattan skyline like human fingers made of blue steel reaching up from blue sea to blue sky. We took a quick look at the World War II Memorial and the Hoboken 150 Years of History Mural.
Above the Stevens Institute Walkway to Campus was an excellent group photo opportunity along with grand views of Manhattan. Returning back to the street, we continued alongside Stevens to Sybil's Cave, the oldest manmade structure in Hoboken, created in 1832 by the Stevens Family as a folly on their property that contained a natural spring. An elaborate Gothic-style entrance was built in front of it. Visitors could sit down at a table and spend a penny on a cool glass of spring water. It became infamous in the summer of 1841 when Mary Cecilia Rogers, known in the press as the “Beautiful Cigar Girl,” was found murdered near Sybil’s Cave, a crime which to this day has not been solved. It inspired Edgar Allan Poe's Mystery of Marie Rogêt. Few people now know about or visit what was once Hoboken’s favorite respite.
We next visited the site of the first recorded baseball game on June 19, 1846, Elysian Fields. Although no longer here, a plaque stands where the baseball diamond is believed to be. Our last stop in Hoboken was the informational Hoboken Historical Museum. Although we did not enter the museum proper, we greatly enjoyed the visuals and descriptions at the entrance including a 1947 map of Hoboken.
We next visited the site of the first recorded baseball game on June 19, 1846, Elysian Fields. Although no longer here, a plaque stands where the baseball diamond is believed to be. Our last stop in Hoboken was the informational Hoboken Historical Museum. Although we did not enter the museum proper, we greatly enjoyed the visuals and descriptions at the entrance including a 1947 map of Hoboken.
After walking a bit in Weehawken, we reached the Weehawken Dueling Grounds where sitting Vice-President Aaron Burr fatally shot former Secretary of the Treasury, Alexander Hamilton during an July 11, 1804 duel. Burr alleged Hamilton defamed his character during Burr’s 1804 New York gubernatorial race. Hamilton’s own son had been killed three years before in a duel at the very same location. Significant disagreement still abounds about whether Hamilton, who shot first, fired into the air by accident or to signal to Burr that he intended to end the duel. When Burr returned fire he hit Hamilton in the lower abdomen, fracturing ribs and causing considerable damage to his internal organs. Burr fled the scene as a dying Hamilton’s head was laid upon a nearby boulder. Hamilton died the following day. Burr would later be arrested and tried for treason over allegations that he intended to establish a new, independent country out of territory acquired during the Louisiana Purchase. Although he was acquitted, Burr’s political career was destroyed. In 1870 a set of train tracks was run through the old dueling grounds, so the boulder, which by then had been tied to Hamilton for several decades, was moved to its current location on Hamilton Street. In 1935 a bronze bust of Hamilton was perched atop the rock.
In between visiting the dueling site and the rock, we passed by the Lincoln Tunnel Ventilation Towers and stopped for lunch and a bathroom break at the Port Imperial / Weehawken Ferry Terminal. One person left us here. After lunch, we continued up the stairs to the Hamilton rock and bust on the palisades.
In between visiting the dueling site and the rock, we passed by the Lincoln Tunnel Ventilation Towers and stopped for lunch and a bathroom break at the Port Imperial / Weehawken Ferry Terminal. One person left us here. After lunch, we continued up the stairs to the Hamilton rock and bust on the palisades.
We wandered through Weehawken and Union City, passing by beautiful homes, the Weehawken Public Library, residential Troy Towers, the Hudson School, and St John's Episcopal Church along the way.
We walked through Washington Park and visited the nearby Van Vorst House, a colonial-era residence in Jersey City located at 531 Palisade Avenue in The Heights. The stone house was built c.1740–1742 by descendants of the first settlers in the region. It is arguably the oldest building in Jersey City. The Van Vorsts were a prominent family who trace their North American roots the third superintendent of the patroonship Pavonia, whose bowery was located at Harsimus, where his widow built the first stone house in the colony on the shores of the North River (Hudson River) in 1647.
Riverview-Fisk Park had brilliant monuments to The Great War and a concrete bust of Henry Hudson who explored the region around New York City for the Dutch East India Co. and laid the foundation for the Dutch colonization of the area. Completing our trilogy of parks was the Pershing Field Park, a city square and park approximately 13.5 acres in size and adjacent to Jersey City Reservoir No. 3. The park site was intended for a reservoir but opened as Reservoir Park for track and field events in 1919 as well as for other activities. It was designed by the noted landscape architect Charles N. Lowrie, responsible for Lincoln Park and the Stephen R. Gregg Park in Bayonne. Dedicated in 1922. the park was named for General John J. Pershing, associating it with the previous use of the grounds as a World War I military training ground. Although invited, General Pershing declined an invitation to attend the July 4 opening ceremony with a letter of apology. We saw several war memorials within the park.
Reservoir Number 3 was closed by the time we reached it which was too bad. It is a decommissioned reservoir atop Bergen Hill situated on approximately 13.8 acres just south of Pershing Field. It was built between 1871 and 1874 as part of the city's waterworks system designed to provide potable water to the city, including Ellis Island. Its perimeter wall is in the Egyptian Revival style and pump stations are in the Romanesque Revival style. The reservoir provided drinking water until the 1980s, when it was drained and abandoned for a larger reservoir at the Boonton Gorge. Since that time, a mini-ecosystem has taken root behind the thick, 20-foot tall stone walls: trees, wildflowers, swans, great blue heron, peregrine falcons, and at the center a 6-acre lake. This urban wildlife preserve hosts numerous animal and plant species not otherwise found in an urban environment. Nearby Reservoir No. 1 was located on either side of Summit Avenue and has been demolished. The Jersey City Reservoir Preservation Alliance, started in 2002, takes care of the site and received the Ted Conrad “Preservationist of the Year” Award in 2005.
Riverview-Fisk Park had brilliant monuments to The Great War and a concrete bust of Henry Hudson who explored the region around New York City for the Dutch East India Co. and laid the foundation for the Dutch colonization of the area. Completing our trilogy of parks was the Pershing Field Park, a city square and park approximately 13.5 acres in size and adjacent to Jersey City Reservoir No. 3. The park site was intended for a reservoir but opened as Reservoir Park for track and field events in 1919 as well as for other activities. It was designed by the noted landscape architect Charles N. Lowrie, responsible for Lincoln Park and the Stephen R. Gregg Park in Bayonne. Dedicated in 1922. the park was named for General John J. Pershing, associating it with the previous use of the grounds as a World War I military training ground. Although invited, General Pershing declined an invitation to attend the July 4 opening ceremony with a letter of apology. We saw several war memorials within the park.
Reservoir Number 3 was closed by the time we reached it which was too bad. It is a decommissioned reservoir atop Bergen Hill situated on approximately 13.8 acres just south of Pershing Field. It was built between 1871 and 1874 as part of the city's waterworks system designed to provide potable water to the city, including Ellis Island. Its perimeter wall is in the Egyptian Revival style and pump stations are in the Romanesque Revival style. The reservoir provided drinking water until the 1980s, when it was drained and abandoned for a larger reservoir at the Boonton Gorge. Since that time, a mini-ecosystem has taken root behind the thick, 20-foot tall stone walls: trees, wildflowers, swans, great blue heron, peregrine falcons, and at the center a 6-acre lake. This urban wildlife preserve hosts numerous animal and plant species not otherwise found in an urban environment. Nearby Reservoir No. 1 was located on either side of Summit Avenue and has been demolished. The Jersey City Reservoir Preservation Alliance, started in 2002, takes care of the site and received the Ted Conrad “Preservationist of the Year” Award in 2005.
Since the reservoir was closed, we spent the time visiting some beautiful old homes instead including the Queen Anne Victorian style House built in 1880-1884 at 912 Summit Ave and the Victorian Carriage style house built in 1875 at 74 Sherman Place.
Finally nearing the end, we reached Journal Square, a neighborhood in Jersey City. We passed by the Journal Squared Tower I, a 54-story retail and residential building that is part of a 3-tower residential complex. Tower I is the 4th highest completed building in New Jersey and Towers II and III will be even taller at 60 and 70 stories. Our first stop was the Newkirk House, also known as the Summit House, located at 510 Summit Avenue. It is supposed to be the oldest surviving structure in Jersey City, New Jersey. The two-story Dutch Colonial building, composed of sandstone, brick, and clapboard dates to 1690. Originally one story, the outer walls are two feet of stone fitted in lime and mortar. Beams of timber in the basement are six-by-twelve inches and those on the second floor are four-by-six inches spaced four-feet apart. Eight-inch wood pegs, rather than nails, were employed during the time of construction.
Next we visited the Van Wagenen House or Apple Tree House [also] at 298 Academy Street. The Apple Tree House was given its name based off of the story of the meeting between General George Washington and the Marquis de Lafayette during the American Revolution in 1780. Legend claims that while camped in Bergen for three days, Washington and Lafayette dined in the yard “underneath and apple tree” and discussed strategy for French Naval intervention. In 1688, Gerrit Gerritsen purchased the land where the Apple Tree House stands today. Gerritsen’s children changed their last name to Van Wagenen shortly thereafter. Between 1710 – 1721, the oldest part of the house was built, and likely included a storage cellar, large hearth and small attic. In 1947, Funeral Director Lawrence G. Quinn purchased the house from the Van Wagenen family, becoming the second-ever owner. In the early 1980’s, the Quinn family opened the Quinn Funeral Home, which operated through the 80’s, and was the funeral site of many Jersey City officials and community members, including former Mayor Frank Hague and J. Owen Grundy. In 1999, the City of Jersey City purchased the property, including the house. In 2002, renovation and restoration plans begin and in November 2017, the house reopened to the public. Throughout the year, free lectures and special events are held at the house, and weekly tours are open to the public every Wednesday. (All lectures are recorded and available via YouTube. Links are available here: https://www.jerseycityculture.org/the-apple-tree-house/)
Several monuments also adorn the Journal Square Plaza area including the Peter Stuyvesant statue. Peter Stuyvesant is one of Jersey City’s very own founding fathers. He was the director-general of the Colony of New Netherlands which were the Dutch communities that included New York and City and Jersey City. Sculptor, John Massey Rhind crafted the statue for $15,000 and donated it to the Village of Bergan (currently Bergen Avenue and Academy Street as well as the area surrounding Journal Square) in October 1913. In the past, the statue had been uprooted, and parts of it had been vandalized. The base of the statue was horribly destroyed when the statue was removed from in front of Martin Luther King School in Journal Square. Through the help of private donations, grants, and the Jersey City Landmarks Conservancy, the foundation for the statue has been rebuilt.
Unveiled on August 7, 2004, was the Purple Heart Memorial located on the island across from Wells Fargo in Journal Square. The Maryland Purple Heart Memorial is a solid red tribute and reminder of the bloodshed in the name of freedom. The monument was drafted by Bona-Fide Memorials of Jersey City and then constructed in Vermont. There’s another plaque on the opposite side, next to the flag pole.
Dedicated on October of 1950 was the ten-foot-tall statue of Christopher Columbus created by Jersey City resident and sculptor, Archimedes Giacomontonio. The explorer stands strong at the top of a white marble pillar points westward with his right hand, he holds a cross in his left. When the statue was originally installed, he was pointing in the wrong direction: East. He was turned around so that he was guiding his followers West. The piece was originally located on the island across from the Loew’s Jersey Theater; it has since been moved to the Journal Square Plaza.
Outside the center of the Journal Square is a fountain that remains intact but dry through the seasons. Originally constructed in the 1990s, it was rededicated in 2002 to 37 Jersey City residents who lost their lives on that fateful day on Sept. 11, 2001. The fountain is dedicated to the names of Jersey City residents etched into the stone
The Jackie Robinson sculpture commemorates when Robinson made his debut as a member of the Montreal Royals in the game against the Jersey City Giants on April 18, 1946. The figure was sculpted by the artist, Susan Wagner in 1998. The statue was revealed February 25, 1998, on Robinson’s 50th Anniversary in celebration of his breaking the color barrier in Major League Baseball.
Lastly, we looked at the Stanley Theatre and the Landmark Loew's Jersey Theatre. Built as the flagship of the Stanley-Fabian chain, the massive and ornate Stanley Theatre was the 6th largest movie palace in the country at the time of its opening. It was also the 2nd largest Atmospheric style movie theatre ever built in the USA, and ultimately the 11th largest movie theatre ever built in America. Over two thousand Jehovah's Witness volunteers from across the United States worked together on the large scale project to restore the theatre, with work completed through volunteers only with the exception of contractors for only high-risk safety needs. The expansive, domed, white plaster, eighty-five-foot ceiling once permitted an open sky effect with a “stars and moving clouds” show that was created by a projecting device—the “Brenkert Brenograph.” Some of the points of light in the ceiling still work today, creating a twinkle-star-like effect, invoking congregation members to feel they are gazing up at Heaven itself.
In the fall of 1929, The Loew’s Corporation opened 5 astonishing movie palaces that quickly became to be known as “Wonder Theaters” due to their size and beauty. They truly were a wonder to behold with the most magnificent and elaborate ornamentation of any theaters in the region. Four of the theaters were located in New York City and the fifth right here in Journal Square – The Loew’s Jersey Theatre. No expense was spared on the buildings or the patrons’s experience. Before every show, the audiences’ journey to the magic realm of the movies began when the Loew’s Jersey organ rose from below the stage and rotated around to reveal the console and organist. Thousands of pipes thundered out as the organists’s hands and feet danced across the keyboards. The moviegoers sat entranced as the opening song of the evening flowed from that magical white and gold leaf-covered box, washing over them. Night after night, long after the rest of the area theatres gave up using their organs because of increased cost cutting, the music continued at The Loew’s Jersey. But eventually, when the movie industry fell on hard times and theaters started to close, the organ was removed and the Loew’s Jersey went dark. The organ has been rescued and restored and the restoration effort for the theatre continues under the Friends of the Loew's.
Next we visited the Van Wagenen House or Apple Tree House [also] at 298 Academy Street. The Apple Tree House was given its name based off of the story of the meeting between General George Washington and the Marquis de Lafayette during the American Revolution in 1780. Legend claims that while camped in Bergen for three days, Washington and Lafayette dined in the yard “underneath and apple tree” and discussed strategy for French Naval intervention. In 1688, Gerrit Gerritsen purchased the land where the Apple Tree House stands today. Gerritsen’s children changed their last name to Van Wagenen shortly thereafter. Between 1710 – 1721, the oldest part of the house was built, and likely included a storage cellar, large hearth and small attic. In 1947, Funeral Director Lawrence G. Quinn purchased the house from the Van Wagenen family, becoming the second-ever owner. In the early 1980’s, the Quinn family opened the Quinn Funeral Home, which operated through the 80’s, and was the funeral site of many Jersey City officials and community members, including former Mayor Frank Hague and J. Owen Grundy. In 1999, the City of Jersey City purchased the property, including the house. In 2002, renovation and restoration plans begin and in November 2017, the house reopened to the public. Throughout the year, free lectures and special events are held at the house, and weekly tours are open to the public every Wednesday. (All lectures are recorded and available via YouTube. Links are available here: https://www.jerseycityculture.org/the-apple-tree-house/)
Several monuments also adorn the Journal Square Plaza area including the Peter Stuyvesant statue. Peter Stuyvesant is one of Jersey City’s very own founding fathers. He was the director-general of the Colony of New Netherlands which were the Dutch communities that included New York and City and Jersey City. Sculptor, John Massey Rhind crafted the statue for $15,000 and donated it to the Village of Bergan (currently Bergen Avenue and Academy Street as well as the area surrounding Journal Square) in October 1913. In the past, the statue had been uprooted, and parts of it had been vandalized. The base of the statue was horribly destroyed when the statue was removed from in front of Martin Luther King School in Journal Square. Through the help of private donations, grants, and the Jersey City Landmarks Conservancy, the foundation for the statue has been rebuilt.
Unveiled on August 7, 2004, was the Purple Heart Memorial located on the island across from Wells Fargo in Journal Square. The Maryland Purple Heart Memorial is a solid red tribute and reminder of the bloodshed in the name of freedom. The monument was drafted by Bona-Fide Memorials of Jersey City and then constructed in Vermont. There’s another plaque on the opposite side, next to the flag pole.
Dedicated on October of 1950 was the ten-foot-tall statue of Christopher Columbus created by Jersey City resident and sculptor, Archimedes Giacomontonio. The explorer stands strong at the top of a white marble pillar points westward with his right hand, he holds a cross in his left. When the statue was originally installed, he was pointing in the wrong direction: East. He was turned around so that he was guiding his followers West. The piece was originally located on the island across from the Loew’s Jersey Theater; it has since been moved to the Journal Square Plaza.
Outside the center of the Journal Square is a fountain that remains intact but dry through the seasons. Originally constructed in the 1990s, it was rededicated in 2002 to 37 Jersey City residents who lost their lives on that fateful day on Sept. 11, 2001. The fountain is dedicated to the names of Jersey City residents etched into the stone
The Jackie Robinson sculpture commemorates when Robinson made his debut as a member of the Montreal Royals in the game against the Jersey City Giants on April 18, 1946. The figure was sculpted by the artist, Susan Wagner in 1998. The statue was revealed February 25, 1998, on Robinson’s 50th Anniversary in celebration of his breaking the color barrier in Major League Baseball.
Lastly, we looked at the Stanley Theatre and the Landmark Loew's Jersey Theatre. Built as the flagship of the Stanley-Fabian chain, the massive and ornate Stanley Theatre was the 6th largest movie palace in the country at the time of its opening. It was also the 2nd largest Atmospheric style movie theatre ever built in the USA, and ultimately the 11th largest movie theatre ever built in America. Over two thousand Jehovah's Witness volunteers from across the United States worked together on the large scale project to restore the theatre, with work completed through volunteers only with the exception of contractors for only high-risk safety needs. The expansive, domed, white plaster, eighty-five-foot ceiling once permitted an open sky effect with a “stars and moving clouds” show that was created by a projecting device—the “Brenkert Brenograph.” Some of the points of light in the ceiling still work today, creating a twinkle-star-like effect, invoking congregation members to feel they are gazing up at Heaven itself.
In the fall of 1929, The Loew’s Corporation opened 5 astonishing movie palaces that quickly became to be known as “Wonder Theaters” due to their size and beauty. They truly were a wonder to behold with the most magnificent and elaborate ornamentation of any theaters in the region. Four of the theaters were located in New York City and the fifth right here in Journal Square – The Loew’s Jersey Theatre. No expense was spared on the buildings or the patrons’s experience. Before every show, the audiences’ journey to the magic realm of the movies began when the Loew’s Jersey organ rose from below the stage and rotated around to reveal the console and organist. Thousands of pipes thundered out as the organists’s hands and feet danced across the keyboards. The moviegoers sat entranced as the opening song of the evening flowed from that magical white and gold leaf-covered box, washing over them. Night after night, long after the rest of the area theatres gave up using their organs because of increased cost cutting, the music continued at The Loew’s Jersey. But eventually, when the movie industry fell on hard times and theaters started to close, the organ was removed and the Loew’s Jersey went dark. The organ has been rescued and restored and the restoration effort for the theatre continues under the Friends of the Loew's.
Most bid their adieus after the 7-hour 15-mile walk but Brian acquiesced to my entreaty to keep me company. We partook in a meal at Blimpie's and enjoyed the wonderful opportunity to view the 1939 black-and-white film Hunchback of Notre Dame inside the Loew's. I stayed to experienced the showing of a portion of the 1923 silent film of the same name accompanied by masterful organ music after Brian left. But the temptation of sleep repeatedly entranced me. I had been awake since 5 AM before dawn. Unable to endure the promise of its sweet escape any longer, I retreated home to rest and prepare for the Hudson County History Tour Part II the following day. Join my Meetup Group for more events!