2013.014

Gajda, Eileen

Gift

Gift of Eileen Gajda.

1976 - 1976

Date(s) Created: 1976 Date(s): 1976-1976

Good

Notes: 2013.014.0001 - Text listing and describing the 34 sites. 1976. Hoboken Historic Sites Walking Tour 1. Erie Lackawanna Terminal, Hudson Place. The first Hoboken site to be entered into the National Register of Historic Places, the terminal dates back to 1907. It was designed by the famous architect Kenneth Murchison. The building is clad in handsomely detailed copper; it housed the first attempt to air cool a public building in the United States. The train sheds were invented by Lincoln Bush and were subsequently emulated in most railroad stations around the world. 2. Land and Improvement Building, 1 Newark Street at River Street. Built around the turn of the century, the building's interior is patterned after a ferryboat. The Stevens family land development corporation used the building as its headquarters. 3. Clam Broth House, 38 Newark Street at River Street. A famous restaurant founded in 1899, its workingman's stand-up bar was finally opened to women in 1972. 4. City Hall, Washington Street between Newark and First Streets. Hoboken's second entry in the National Register of Historic Places, the main building was constructed in red brick in 1881; the original construction was considerably enlarged in white brick in 1911, reflecting the growth of the city. In 1910, Hoboken reached its peak population of 70,324. 5. Site of John Jacob Astor's Villa, formerly at the Southwest Corner of Second and Washington Streets. In his old age, the wealthy fur merchant mingled with the pleasure seekers along the Hoboken riverfront. His villa was built in 1828 and stood on this spot until 1910. 6. Number One or Rue School, Third and Garden Streets. Founded in 1858 and the second building on the site, the structure was named for David E. Rue, the first Superintendent of Hoboken Schools. Outstanding architectural features include a double marble staircase in the interior. 7. Keuffel and Esser Building, 301 Jefferson Street at Third Street. This manufacturing firm, world-renowned for its precision instruments, came to Hoboken in 1866. The reinforced concrete building, constructed in 1901 [built 1906, opened 1907], marks the first conversion of a factory to housing in the United States in 1975. 8. St. Francis Church, 300 Jefferson Street at Third Street. Originally constructed for Italian Catholics in 1888, the church is run by Franciscan priests. The school, constructed later, offered both Italian and English language instruction. 9. St. Mary Hospital, 308 Willow Avenue at Fourth Street. One of the first hospitals in New Jersey has been on this site since 1865. 10. Our Lady of Grace Church, 400 Willow Avenue at Fourth Street. Once the largest Roman Catholic Church in New Jersey, it was constructed in 1874 after a design by local architect Francis G. Himpler, who also designed City Hall. Gifts of paintings and ceremonial vessels were donated by Victor Emmanuel, Emperor Napoleon III and other Italian and French royalty, when the church was dedicated in 1875. 11. Church Square Park, between Willow and Garden and Fourth and Fifth Streets. This block was dedicated to the people of Hoboken for outdoor recreation by Colonel John Stevens in 1804. 12. Hoboken Free Public Library, 500 Park Avenue at Fifth Street. Donated by the Stevens family in 1895, this was the third public library to be built in New Jersey. 13. Stevens Academy, 266 Fifth Street at Willow Avenue. Designed by local architect August Hexamer, the academy building reflects many of the architectural features of the Stevens Castle, now destroyed. Built in 1860, it is believed to have housed the first kindergarten in the United States. 14. Holy Innocents Church, 311 Sixth Street at Willow Avenue. This Gothic structure dates to 1872. Martha Bayard Stevens had the church constructed for the poor of Hoboken in memory of her daughter Julia, who died when only seven years of age. 15. Willow Terrace, between Willow and Clinton and Sixth and Seventh Streets. Built in 1886, these diminutive rowhouses were the homes of Stevens Estate workers. The cobblestone streets in the mews are still privately owned by the ninety resident families. 16. Martha Institute, Sixth and Park Streets. Constructed in 1866, the institute was named for Martha.Bayard Stevens who donated much of her time and money to initiating first an academy and then a manual trade school on this site. The building also provided the locale for the first Hoboken High School. 17. Stephen Collins Foster House, 601 Bloomfield Street at Sixth Street. Stephen Collins Foster lived in this house from 1854 to 1855. During this time he wrote "Jeannie with the Light Brown Hair." 18. Union Club, 600 Hudson Street at Sixth Street. Founded in 1857 as a German social club, many of the outstanding artistic Hoboken events of the mid-1800's occurred within its walls. The present edifice was built in 1864. During World War I, the owners changed the name from the Deutsche to the Union Club. 19. Trinity Episcopal Church, 701 Washington Street at Seventh Street. Designed by Richard Upjohn, who also conceived the famed New York City church of the same name, this Gothic edifice was completed in 1856. It probably is the oldest institutional structure in Hoboken. The rectory next to the church was finished in 1864. 20. Spanish Seventh Day Adventist Church, 901 Bloomfield Street at Ninth Street. This building originally housed the First Baptist Church; the cornerstone was laid in 1890. In 1891, when the church was dedicated, it was said, "The church is not only a monument to the spirit of religion, but it is an ornament to the city." 21. Bloomfield Street between Ninth and Eleventh Streets. From these blocks radiated the Hoboken brown-stone revival movement, which had its beginning in 1971. 22. First Spanish Baptist Church, 1101 Bloomfield Street at Eleventh Street. Originally called the Columbia Club, the building was constructed to provide social gathering space. The basement contained bowling alleys, while the floors above offered an entertainment hall, banquet rooms, a library and several card rooms. Groundbreaking occurred on September 1, 1891. 23. Washington Street Fire House, Washington Street between Thirteenth and Fourteenth Streets. The only Hoboken building listed in the American Building Survey, it was built in 1880. The Stevens family, which contributed the land, insisted that the structure be set back from the sidewalk so that firemen could spit their tobacco juice without spraying the passersby. 24. Yellow Flats, Washington Street between Twelfth and Thirteenth Streets. Hetty Green, one of the wealthiest American women of her day and known as the "Witch of Wall Street," lived on this site in 1896. The existing structure was rehabilitated into 174 modern apartment units in 1974. 25. Elysian Park, between Tenth and Eleventh Streets, and Hudson Street and Shore Road. This public square represents the last vestiges of the outdoor recreation area , called Elysian Fields, which extended from Tenth to Seventeenth Street along the river-front. The first regular game of baseball was played in the Fields on June 19, 1846. The first clubhouse of the New York Yacht Club was located at Tenth Street and the River in 1844. 26. St. Paul's Episcopal Church, 820 Hudson Street. Established in 1835, St. Paul's is the oldest religious congregation in Hoboken. The existing structure, built in 1870 features the famed Warrior's Shrine dedicated to the bravery of all those men who gave their lives to this country. 27. St. Matthews Lutheran Church, 57 Eighth Street at Hudson Street. The bell in the 150-foot high tower still proclaims the hour after ninety-nine years of service. Stained glass windows and a mural catalogued by the Smithsonian Institution add to the beauty of the church. 28. Castle Point, Observation Deck at Stevens Center Building on Castle Point Hill. This rise of serpentine rock named Castle Point was referred to as a "sylver myne" in the log of Henry Hudson's second voyage on the Half Moon in 1609. The Stevens family's home known as the "Castle" graced this bluff from 1853 to 1859. The cannon on the observatory dates back to the Civil War. 29. Stevens Gatehouse, Sixth Street off River Street. Built of serpentine rock, this unusual structure was the home of the cowherdess for the Stevens estate. It was built in 1859, and is therefore the oldest building on the Stevens campus. 30. Stevens Administration Building, Fifth Street between River and Hudson Streets. Called the "A" Building, it was the first building in the Stevens Institute complex. The firm of R. and R. Upjohn and Sons designed the building in 1870; Upjohn also designed Hoboken's Trinity Church. 31. Stevens Park, between Fourth and Fifth Streets, and Hudson Street and Shore [River] Road. Old maps refer to site as Hudson Square Park. As was the case with Church Square Park, the Stevens family donated this land to the people of Hoboken. Hoboken's Liberty Tree was planted here on April 17, 1976. The statue was commemorated in 1888 by General William Tecumseh Sherman; the cannons were taken from the U.S.S. Portsmouth when she was decommissioned at Hoboken's Fifth Street Pier in 1901. 32. St. Peter and Paul Church, 400 Hudson Street at Fourth Street. Founded originally for German Catholics in 1889, the interior of the present church was used for scenes in the movie "On the Waterfront." Exterior church scenes for the movie were filmed at Our Lady of Grace Church. 33. World War I Boulder, River Street at Port Authority Gate B. Hoboken served as the official Port of Embarkation for World War I troops; during the course of the war over three million soldiers passed through the city. The piers were confiscated by federal secret service men, and 250 German families residing in Hoboken were deported. On December 4,1918, President Woodrow Wilson sailed from Hoboken to attend the Paris Peace Conference, where he proposed the formation of the League of Nations. 34. The First Demonstration of a Steam Railroad in the United States, 56 Newark Street at Hudson Street. On May 13, 1826, Colonel John Stevens proved that a locomotive could operate on a track. This, the first steam locomotive in America, carried 6 people and traveled over 12 miles an hour. The circular track lay between Newark and First Streets from Washington Street to the River. Long Tour: All Sites —3 hours—4.2 miles Medium Tour: Sites 1, 2, 3, 4, 5,10,11,12,13,14,15,16, 17,19, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34—2 hours—3.0 miles Short Tour: Sites 1, 2,3,18, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34—1.5 hours—2.4 miles Status: OK Status By: dw Status Date: 2013-04-06