The Heights, Jersey City
Encyclopedia
The Heights or Jersey City Heights is a district in the north end of Jersey City, New Jersey
atop the New Jersey Palisades
overlooking Hoboken
to the east and Croxton
in the Meadowlands
to the west.
The southern border of The Heights is generally considered to be north of Bergen Arches
and The Divided Highway, while Paterson Plank Road
in Washington Park near Transfer Station
is its main northern boundary. Its postal area Zip Code
is 07307. The Heights mostly contains two- and three-family houses and low rise apartment buildings, and is similar to North Hudson
architectural style and neighborhood character.
Central Avenue
is its primary commercial thoroughfare., with residential neighborhoods on both sides. Pershing Field is a park in the center of the district, offering green space, baseball fields, a swimming pool and ice-skating rink. The adjacent old water reservoir #3 has been preserved as a state designated wetland and park. Many stately Victorian
and Edwardian
homes distinguish the Heights, particularly along Summit Avenue and Sherman Place
Riverview-Fiske Park along Palisade
and Ogden Avenues
, is a neighborhood on the east side of the Palisades offer views of Hoboken
and the Manhattan
skyline. The Schurman House, the Odgen-Conrad House, and the Van Vorst Farmhouse
, (a stone building from 1742, the city's oldest) are located in the vicinity. Pohlmann's Hall
(40°44′23″N 74°2′45″W) at 154 Ogden Avenue received its federal historical designation in September 1985. Christ Hospital is south on Palisade Avenue.
Western Slope
descending a cuesta
from Kennedy Boulevard
the overlooks Croxton
in the Meadowlands. At the corner of Manhattan Avenue, in the Dr. Leonard J. Gordon Park is larger than life 1907 sculpture Buffalo and Bears by Solon Hannibal Borglum.
descends to the 9th Street-Congress Street
station of the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail
. Mountain Ave and New York Ave
are the two streets that travel along the face of the cliffs. New Jersey Transit bus routes 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87 and 88,and serve the district locally to North Hudson
and Journal Square
while the 123 and 125 also continue to Port Authority Bus Terminal
(PABT). Red and Tan in Hudson County 99x runs along Central Avenue between PABT and Bayonne.
, the superintendent of which was the American patriarch of the Van Vorst
family. A farmhouse built in 1742 by the family (now on Palisade Avenue) is considered to be the oldest building in Hudson County. Summit Avenue
, slightly to the west follows an Hackensack Indian
trail that became the main road from the villages of Communipaw
and Bergen
and eventually connected to the Paterson
and Hackensack Plank Road
s.
The area comprising most of the Heights was once an independent municipality, known as Hudson City
. It was incorporated as a town in 1852, and later into a city in 1855. The Town Hall, erected on Oakland Avenue, still stands today. Garrett D. Van Reipen was that city's first mayor. (According to the NY Times, E.R.V Wright was the first Mayor of Hudson City.) Hudson City, along with the Town of Bergen and the Township of Greenville
, merged with Jersey City in 1873.
On March 27, 1868 Hudson City became the birthplace of its most famous namesake, the new Hudson City Savings Bank, when it received a special charter from the State of New Jersey Legislature to open in what was then the small City of Hudson, New Jersey
. Hudson's mayor Garrett D. Van Reipen became the first President of the small bank, which was located on Newark Avenue. By the end of the 19th Century, Hudson City Savings Bank had accumulated assets and deposits of over US$1 million. In the 1920s, the savings bank opened its second branch, and moved from Newark Avenue to 587 Summit Avenue in Jersey City, and later moved its headquarters to Bergen County.
America's first motion picture industry can trace its roots to the Hudson River
towns of New Jersey, especially Fort Lee
. Nestor Studios
(which merged into Universal Studios
) began in Bayonne
. Pathé
, the France-based company that during the first part of the 20th century was the largest film equipment and production company in the world, established an American factory and studio facility in The Heights in 1910, the building of which still stands overlooking Paterson Plank Road
.It also established the Eclectic Film Company as a subsidiary distribution company for both its American and European product. Although the Jersey City plant produced moderately popular comedies, dramas, and newsreels largely directed at the US market, Perils of Pauline was the first American-made Pathé effort to achieve worldwide success under the Eclectic banner.
Jersey City, New Jersey
Jersey City is the seat of Hudson County, New Jersey, United States.Part of the New York metropolitan area, Jersey City lies between the Hudson River and Upper New York Bay across from Lower Manhattan and the Hackensack River and Newark Bay...
atop the New Jersey Palisades
New Jersey Palisades
The Palisades, also called the New Jersey Palisades or the Hudson Palisades are a line of steep cliffs along the west side of the lower Hudson River in northeastern New Jersey and southern New York in the United States. The cliffs stretch north from Jersey City approximately 20 mi to near...
overlooking Hoboken
Hoboken, New Jersey
Hoboken is a city in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population was 50,005. The city is part of the New York metropolitan area and contains Hoboken Terminal, a major transportation hub for the region...
to the east and Croxton
Croxton, Jersey City
Croxton is a section of Jersey City, New Jersey roughly bounded by Secaucus at Penhorn Creek , The Riverbend of the Hackensack River and the Hudson Generating Station and the Marion Section to the south and Truck 1-9 and Western Slope to the east...
in the Meadowlands
New Jersey Meadowlands
New Jersey Meadowlands, also known as the Hackensack Meadowlands after the primary river flowing through it, is a general name for the large ecosystem of wetlands in northeast New Jersey in the United States. The Meadowlands are known for being the site of large landfills and decades of...
to the west.
The southern border of The Heights is generally considered to be north of Bergen Arches
Bergen Arches
Bergen Arches is an abandoned railroad right of way through Bergen Hill in Jersey City, New Jersey.-History:...
and The Divided Highway, while Paterson Plank Road
Paterson Plank Road
Paterson Plank Road is a road that runs through Passaic, Bergen and Hudson Counties in northeastern New Jersey originally lain in the colonial era. The route, connecting the city Paterson and the Hudson River waterfront, still exists...
in Washington Park near Transfer Station
Transfer Station (Hudson County)
Transfer Station is the name of a section of Hudson County, New Jersey, which radiates from the intersection where Paterson Plank Road crosses Summit Avenue at 7th Street, and where the borders of Jersey City Heights, North Bergen, and Union City meet at one point, which is a few blocks to the...
is its main northern boundary. Its postal area Zip Code
ZIP Code
ZIP codes are a system of postal codes used by the United States Postal Service since 1963. The term ZIP, an acronym for Zone Improvement Plan, is properly written in capital letters and was chosen to suggest that the mail travels more efficiently, and therefore more quickly, when senders use the...
is 07307. The Heights mostly contains two- and three-family houses and low rise apartment buildings, and is similar to North Hudson
North Hudson
North Hudson is the name of the following places in the United States of America:*North Hudson, New Jersey*North Hudson, New York*North Hudson, Wisconsin...
architectural style and neighborhood character.
Central Avenue
Central Avenue (Hudson County)
County Route 663 is long Central Avenue in Jersey City Heights, and is the main commercial thoroughfare for that section of Jersey City, New Jersey.It runs between Newark Avenue near Five Corners and Paterson Plank Road near Transfer Station...
is its primary commercial thoroughfare., with residential neighborhoods on both sides. Pershing Field is a park in the center of the district, offering green space, baseball fields, a swimming pool and ice-skating rink. The adjacent old water reservoir #3 has been preserved as a state designated wetland and park. Many stately Victorian
Victorian architecture
The term Victorian architecture refers collectively to several architectural styles employed predominantly during the middle and late 19th century. The period that it indicates may slightly overlap the actual reign, 20 June 1837 – 22 January 1901, of Queen Victoria. This represents the British and...
and Edwardian
Edwardian period
The Edwardian era or Edwardian period in the United Kingdom is the period covering the reign of King Edward VII, 1901 to 1910.The death of Queen Victoria in January 1901 and the succession of her son Edward marked the end of the Victorian era...
homes distinguish the Heights, particularly along Summit Avenue and Sherman Place
Riverview-Fiske Park along Palisade
Palisade Avenue (Hudson Palisades)
Palisade Avenue is the name given to a historic road which parallels the eastern crest of Hudson Palisades in northeastern New Jersey. It travels between in Jersey City and Fort Lee, passing through Jersey City Heights, North Hudson, and Cliffside Park, various parts carrying Hudson and Bergen...
and Ogden Avenues
Aaron Ogden
Aaron Ogden was a United States Senator and the 5th Governor of New Jersey.-Early life:Ogden was born in Elizabeth, New Jersey...
, is a neighborhood on the east side of the Palisades offer views of Hoboken
Hoboken, New Jersey
Hoboken is a city in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population was 50,005. The city is part of the New York metropolitan area and contains Hoboken Terminal, a major transportation hub for the region...
and the Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
skyline. The Schurman House, the Odgen-Conrad House, and the Van Vorst Farmhouse
Van Vorst Park
Van Vorst Park is neighborhood in Historic Downtown in Jersey City, centered around a park sharing the same name. The neighborhood is located west of Paulus Hook and Marin Boulevard, north of Grand Street, east of the Turnpike Extension, and south of The Village and Christopher Columbus Drive...
, (a stone building from 1742, the city's oldest) are located in the vicinity. Pohlmann's Hall
Pohlmann's Hall
Pohlmann's Hall, is located in Jersey City, New Jersey. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places on September 5, 1985.-History:...
(40°44′23″N 74°2′45″W) at 154 Ogden Avenue received its federal historical designation in September 1985. Christ Hospital is south on Palisade Avenue.
Western Slope
Western Slope, Jersey City
Western Slope is a neighborhood in The Heights, Jersey City, New Jersey on the cuesta, or gradual decline, of the western side of the New Jersey Palisades between The Boulevard and Tonnele Avenue....
descending a cuesta
Cuesta
In structural geology and geomorphology, a cuesta is a ridge formed by gently tilted sedimentary rock strata in a homoclinal structure. Cuestas have a steep slope, where the rock layers are exposed on their edges, called an escarpment or, if more steep, a cliff...
from Kennedy Boulevard
County Route 501 (New Jersey)
County Route 501 is a county highway in New Jersey in two sections spanning Middlesex, Hudson and Bergen Counties. The southern section runs from South Plainfield to Perth Amboy, the northern section runs from Bayonne to Rockleigh, and the two sections are connected by New York State Route 440...
the overlooks Croxton
Croxton, Jersey City
Croxton is a section of Jersey City, New Jersey roughly bounded by Secaucus at Penhorn Creek , The Riverbend of the Hackensack River and the Hudson Generating Station and the Marion Section to the south and Truck 1-9 and Western Slope to the east...
in the Meadowlands. At the corner of Manhattan Avenue, in the Dr. Leonard J. Gordon Park is larger than life 1907 sculpture Buffalo and Bears by Solon Hannibal Borglum.
Transportation
An elevator at Congress Street and Paterson Plank RoadPaterson Plank Road
Paterson Plank Road is a road that runs through Passaic, Bergen and Hudson Counties in northeastern New Jersey originally lain in the colonial era. The route, connecting the city Paterson and the Hudson River waterfront, still exists...
descends to the 9th Street-Congress Street
9th Street-Congress Street (HBLR station)
9th Street-Congress Street is a station on the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail operated by New Jersey Transit which opened on September 7, 2004...
station of the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail
Hudson-Bergen Light Rail
The Hudson–Bergen Light Rail is a light rail system in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. Owned by New Jersey Transit and operated by the 21st Century Rail Corporation, it connects the communities of Bayonne, Jersey City, Hoboken, Weehawken, Union City , and North Bergen.The system began...
. Mountain Ave and New York Ave
are the two streets that travel along the face of the cliffs. New Jersey Transit bus routes 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87 and 88,and serve the district locally to North Hudson
North Hudson
North Hudson is the name of the following places in the United States of America:*North Hudson, New Jersey*North Hudson, New York*North Hudson, Wisconsin...
and Journal Square
Journal Square
Journal Square is a business district, residential area, and transportation hub in Jersey City, New Jersey, which takes its name from the newspaper Jersey Journal whose headquarters are located there. The "square" itself is at the intersection of Kennedy Boulevard and Bergen Avenues...
while the 123 and 125 also continue to Port Authority Bus Terminal
Port Authority Bus Terminal
The Port Authority Bus Terminal is the main gateway for interstate buses into Manhattan in New York City...
(PABT). Red and Tan in Hudson County 99x runs along Central Avenue between PABT and Bayonne.
History
The Heights was part of the colony of Pavonia, New NetherlandPavonia, New Netherland
Pavonia was the first European settlement on the west bank of the North River that was part of the 17th century province of New Netherland in what would become today's Hudson County, New Jersey.-Hudson and the Hackensack:...
, the superintendent of which was the American patriarch of the Van Vorst
Van Vorst Park
Van Vorst Park is neighborhood in Historic Downtown in Jersey City, centered around a park sharing the same name. The neighborhood is located west of Paulus Hook and Marin Boulevard, north of Grand Street, east of the Turnpike Extension, and south of The Village and Christopher Columbus Drive...
family. A farmhouse built in 1742 by the family (now on Palisade Avenue) is considered to be the oldest building in Hudson County. Summit Avenue
Summit Avenue (Hudson County)
County Route 617 is long and follows one street, Summit Avenue along the ridge of the Hudson Palisades in Hudson County, New Jersey. Its southern end is CR 622, or Grand Street, at Communipaw Junction in the Bergen-Lafayette Section of Jersey City...
, slightly to the west follows an Hackensack Indian
Hackensack (Native Americans)
Hackensack was the exonym given to a band of Lenape, a Native American people is a European derivation of the Lenape word for what is now the region of northeastern New Jersey along the Hudson and Hackensack Rivers.-Territory and Society:...
trail that became the main road from the villages of Communipaw
Communipaw
Communipaw is a section of Jersey City, New Jersey west of Liberty State Park and east of Bergen Hill, and site of one the earliest European settlements in North America. It gives its name to the historic avenue which runs from its eastern end near LSP Station through the neighborhoods of...
and Bergen
Bergen Square
Bergen Square, at the intersection of Bergen Avenue and Academy Street in Jersey City, is in the southwestern part of the much larger Journal Square district...
and eventually connected to the Paterson
Paterson Plank Road
Paterson Plank Road is a road that runs through Passaic, Bergen and Hudson Counties in northeastern New Jersey originally lain in the colonial era. The route, connecting the city Paterson and the Hudson River waterfront, still exists...
and Hackensack Plank Road
Hackensack Plank Road
The Hackensack Plank Road was a major artery which connected the cities of Hoboken and Hackensack, New Jersey Like its cousin routes, the Newark Plank Road and Paterson Plank Road, it travelled over Bergen Hill and across the Hackensack Meadows from the Hudson River waterfront to the city for...
s.
The area comprising most of the Heights was once an independent municipality, known as Hudson City
Hudson City, New Jersey
Hudson was a city that existed in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States, from 1855 to 1870 when it became part of Jersey City.Hudson Town, a predecessor of Hudson City, was formed by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on April 12, 1852, from portions of North Bergen Township.Hudson City itself...
. It was incorporated as a town in 1852, and later into a city in 1855. The Town Hall, erected on Oakland Avenue, still stands today. Garrett D. Van Reipen was that city's first mayor. (According to the NY Times, E.R.V Wright was the first Mayor of Hudson City.) Hudson City, along with the Town of Bergen and the Township of Greenville
Greenville, Jersey City
Greenville is the southernmost section of Jersey City, New Jersey.In its broadest definition Greenville encompasses the area south of the West Side Branch of Hudson-Bergen Light Rail and north of the city line with Bayonne, between the Upper New York Bay and the Newark Bay, and corresponds to the...
, merged with Jersey City in 1873.
On March 27, 1868 Hudson City became the birthplace of its most famous namesake, the new Hudson City Savings Bank, when it received a special charter from the State of New Jersey Legislature to open in what was then the small City of Hudson, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
. Hudson's mayor Garrett D. Van Reipen became the first President of the small bank, which was located on Newark Avenue. By the end of the 19th Century, Hudson City Savings Bank had accumulated assets and deposits of over US$1 million. In the 1920s, the savings bank opened its second branch, and moved from Newark Avenue to 587 Summit Avenue in Jersey City, and later moved its headquarters to Bergen County.
America's first motion picture industry can trace its roots to the Hudson River
Hudson River
The Hudson is a river that flows from north to south through eastern New York. The highest official source is at Lake Tear of the Clouds, on the slopes of Mount Marcy in the Adirondack Mountains. The river itself officially begins in Henderson Lake in Newcomb, New York...
towns of New Jersey, especially Fort Lee
Fort Lee, New Jersey
Fort Lee is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 35,345. Located atop the Hudson Palisades, the borough is the western terminus of the George Washington Bridge...
. Nestor Studios
Nestor Studios
The Nestor Motion Picture Company was a motion picture studio/production company located in Bayonne, New Jersey, and Hollywood, California, which was owned and operated by David Horsley and his brother, William Horsley....
(which merged into Universal Studios
Universal Studios
Universal Pictures , a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, is one of the six major movie studios....
) began in Bayonne
Bayonne, New Jersey
Bayonne is a city in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. Located in the Gateway Region, Bayonne is a peninsula that is situated between Newark Bay to the west, the Kill van Kull to the south, and New York Bay to the east...
. Pathé
Pathé
Pathé or Pathé Frères is the name of various French businesses founded and originally run by the Pathé Brothers of France.-History:...
, the France-based company that during the first part of the 20th century was the largest film equipment and production company in the world, established an American factory and studio facility in The Heights in 1910, the building of which still stands overlooking Paterson Plank Road
Paterson Plank Road
Paterson Plank Road is a road that runs through Passaic, Bergen and Hudson Counties in northeastern New Jersey originally lain in the colonial era. The route, connecting the city Paterson and the Hudson River waterfront, still exists...
.It also established the Eclectic Film Company as a subsidiary distribution company for both its American and European product. Although the Jersey City plant produced moderately popular comedies, dramas, and newsreels largely directed at the US market, Perils of Pauline was the first American-made Pathé effort to achieve worldwide success under the Eclectic banner.
See also
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Hudson County, New Jersey
- List of neighborhoods in Jersey City, New Jersey
- Long Dock TunnelLong Dock TunnelThe Long Dock Tunnel is a tunnel in New Jersey that runs diagonally through Bergen Hill, a section of the New Jersey Palisades in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States...
- Paterson Plank RoadPaterson Plank RoadPaterson Plank Road is a road that runs through Passaic, Bergen and Hudson Counties in northeastern New Jersey originally lain in the colonial era. The route, connecting the city Paterson and the Hudson River waterfront, still exists...
- White Manna
- Kennedy BoulevardCounty Route 501 (New Jersey)County Route 501 is a county highway in New Jersey in two sections spanning Middlesex, Hudson and Bergen Counties. The southern section runs from South Plainfield to Perth Amboy, the northern section runs from Bayonne to Rockleigh, and the two sections are connected by New York State Route 440...
- Aerial view of mid Hudson County showing Jersey City Heights
