Landmarks of Hoboken, New Jersey

Hoboken, New Jersey is home to many parks, historical landmarks, and other places of interest.

Landmarks

Castle Point

The Castle Gatehouse at Stevens Institute of Technology

Castle Point is the highest point in Hoboken. The name is a degeneration of "Castille Point", due to its supposed resemblance to the Castillian coast in Spain. To early navigators, the high serpentine crag jutting over the river reminded them of a miniature Rock of Gibraltar (although the Rock of Gibraltar is actually in Andalusia, not Castile which in fact has no coast). In 1853 a 40-room mansion, the "Stevens Castle", was built on land adjacent to the point. It was acquired by Stevens Institute of Technology in 1910 and served as an administrative and residential building until 1959. Castle Point is still part of the Stevens campus. On the side of Castle Point is the location of historic Sybil's Cave, which is now bricked up.

Castle Point also includes the surrounding area and has streets such as yellow brick Castle Point Terrace. Castle Point Park and Castle Point Skate Park are located at the base of Castle Point, next to the Hudson River.

Clam Broth House

The Clam Broth House (1899–2004), was a landmark building which was condemned by city officials because of structural failures caused by construction workers, and destroyed in 2004.

The Clam Broth House attracted more attention than usual, because of the giant hand-shaped signs. There were two giant hand-shaped signs, one hanging on the outside of the Clam Broth House that pointed downward towards the entrance, and one on a neighboring building (which is the only sign still there today). In addition, there was a third, smaller hand-shaped sign. The Clam Broth House opened in 1899.

There were cracks and bulges in the building's facade prior to the building's destruction, and the facade also buckled in May 2003, causing it to be shut down.

Hoboken Historical Museum

The Hoboken Historical Museum was founded in 1986 and moved into its current location at 1301 Hudson St. in 2001. It presents displays on the city's history as well as exhibits of local artists' work. Its current location was once the W. & A. Fletcher Co. machine shop, a hub of the city's 19th century shipbuilding and repair industry.

Hoboken Projects

The Hoboken Projects are a complex of low-income apartments on the western side of Hoboken. However, the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail has created a station near the Projects to connect it with other parts of Hudson County and Bergen County.

The miracle statue

On July 29, 2005, the Projects gained publicity throughout the New York metro area when a miniature statue of Jesus apparently opened one of its eyes on its own. Before July 29, its eyes were shut. The statue is a part of a shrine at the corner of Jackson Street and Third Street that is taken care of by Julio Dones, a partially blind man who says he noticed one of its eyes was open while he was cleaning it. He claims that it is a miracle, while others believe it was a hoax. Some believe that there were already eyes in the statue, and that eyelids were glued on and one of them fell off. Regardless of how it happened, the incident gained publicity quickly. On July 29, 2005 two local news stations, ABC and UPN, came to the shrine to report it live and interview people. It has since been called "The Miracle Statue". The statue was found in a Jersey City garbage bin in 2004.

Maxwell's

In the early 1980s after his family bought the uptown Hoboken building, Steve Fallon began booking bands into what had been the ground floor tavern's back dining room. Bands like R.E.M., Sonic Youth, Bruce Springsteen, My Chemical Romance, Fugazi, They Might Be Giants and Nirvana have all played Maxwell's. Except for a small break in the 1990s, Maxwell's has been a vital a part of the indie music community ever since.

Hudson Tea Building Walkway

The Hudson Tea Building Walkway is an area of public land in that was opened in 2004 and forms a "C" shape around the west, north and east sides of the Hudson Tea Building apartment complex (1500 Washington and 1500 Hudson Streets). It is the most recent area of Hoboken land that has been opened to the public. It offers views of Manhattan, (particularly around midtown) and also of Hoboken's north harbor. About 66% of the walkway borders Hoboken's north harbor. The park contains the northeasternmost point in Hoboken, New Jersey (although places are farther north and east than it, there is a corner of the walkway that is as far combined north and east as you can go in Hoboken.) The walkway contains flowers and a view south down Washington Street and Bloomfield Street. (It starts at the northern tip of Washington Street.)

Marineview Plaza

Marineview Plaza is a building complex made up of two 25-story buildings, built in Brutalist style. The Marineview buildings are the tallest buildings in Hoboken, New Jersey. Marineview Plaza One is the northernmost and Marineview Plaza Two is the southernmost. Both buildings are residential, and are bordered on the west by Hudson Street, on the north by 4th Street, on the east by River Street and on the south by 3rd Street. In 2001 many floors' views of the New York skyline were blocked by the 333 River Street complex. Even so, they are still visible from Manhattan.^{8 9}

As well as having two 25-story buildings, the Marineview Plaza complex also has 3 smaller buildings, one of which (Marineview Plaza five) once housed Hoboken's only movie theater, which has since closed and been replaced by a bank.

Sybil's Cave

Sybil's Cave is a cave with a water spring, that is now buried at the bottom of the Stevens Institute of Technology hill, near the Castle Point Skate Park. The cave was a major attraction in Hoboken in the 19th century. It has inspired many legends and stories for more than 100 years.

The cave opened in 1832, was shut in the 1880s due to Health Department concerns about its water, and was filled with dirt and concrete during the 1930s. The current mayor of Hoboken, David Roberts, has plans to excavate the site and recreate the archway that once stood in front of the cave. A historic marker explaining the cave's history is also planned. ^5,13

Edgar Allan Poe used a real event (the murder of Mary Rogers) that occurred in 1841 at Sybil's Cave as a basis for the detective story "The Mystery of Marie Roget"⁶.

Weehawken Cove

Image of Weehawken Cove/North Hoboken Harbor taken by NASA. (Image on the right with red line shows where it is.)

Weehawken Cove is a small cove that extends westward from the Hudson River. The cove straddles the boundary between Hoboken to the south and Weehawken to the north, with most of it inside the boundaries of Hoboken. Explorer Henry Hudson anchored his ship there on October 2 1609, the first European to see the cove.

A pair of apartment complexes have been built along the cove in the last decade. On the Hoboken side of the cove is the Hoboken Tea Building Walkway, which runs alongside the water and offers the best public Hoboken views of the cove. Manhattan is easily visible from the cove.

Parks

Castle Point Park

Castle Point Park is a public park consisting of a walkway along the Hudson river, offering scenic views of Manhattan. Stretching north along the river from Frank Sinatra Park, it terminates near 10th Street, with Sinatra Drive following along its length. Castle Point Park runs past the bottom of Castle Point, home to the Stevens Institute of Technology. Historic Sybil's Cave is also visible from the park.

Within the park is the Castle Point Skate Park, Hoboken's only designated skateboarding area. It features many ramps: one small half-pipe, one large half-pipe, one quarter pipe, and one 45º ramp, as well as several smaller ramps.

Church Square Park

Church Square Park is bordered on the west by Willow Avenue, the east by Garden Street, the north by 5th Street and the south by 4th Street. Park Avenue is blocked by the park. Church Square park is surrounded by famous landmarks, such as the OLG church, the Hoboken Public Library (in top-left corner of picture), the Demarest School Building and St. Mary's hospital.

The park has a firefighters memorial, consisting of a statue of a fireman, in the western part of the park and a veterans memorial, consisting of a statue of an eagle and a flagpole, in the eastern part. Included in the veterans memorial is a stone bas-relief tribute to The Four Chaplains topped by a bas-relief tribute to radio pioneer Guglielmo Marconi. There is a gazebo in the center of the park, where weekly outdoor concerts are held in the summer and fall. The playground and swings are slightly southeast of the gazebo, and there are also 4 fields (formerly 6), a dog run, and many bushes. Recently, "no ball playing" signs have been put up in the fields, apparently to keep the grass in good shape.

In 1994, the wooden playground that had been in place for a long time was destroyed and replaced with a safer, more packaged playground. The newer playground has been in the park for 11 years and has remained practically unchanged since it was built in the mid-90's.

In 2005, a memorial grove, containing trees dedicated to a fire victim, was relocated to a less attractive part of the park to make way for a toddler playground, despite public opposition. Questions were raised about the toddler playground's necessity, and those opposed to the project argued that there was no need for it since there were already 3 playgrounds within Church Square Park. They also argued that the new toddler playground was an eyesore and had replaced too much open space (at the time, 6 major fields were reduced to 5). In March 2005, the oldest tree in Church Square Park was killed because it was in the way of the construction of the toddler playground. Despite the toddler playground's controversial status and public disapproval, it was finished in April, 2005.

In the spring of 2007, three very old trees in Church Square Park, including 2 London plane trees, were killed when construction began on the small park's fifth playground, removing more open space; it has been heavily criticized by local citizens who say that the poor planning caused the deaths of the trees and that the new playground was not needed. Mayor David Roberts said his decision to build the playground was influenced by the schools and parents. Efforts have been made to dismantle the playground, which lies near the Hoboken Public Library, but all have failed so far. In July 2007, construction began on the park's sixth playground without warning.

Columbus Park

Columbus Park is a park near Hoboken High School at the corner of 9th Street and Grand Street. There was originally a distinct and unique one-of-a-kind playground a tall as a three story building with unusual equipment found nowhere else. It was destroyed in October of 2002 to make way for a more normal, packaged (and safer) playground, in the name of Deborah Lynn Williams, a woman who was killed in the World Trade Center in the September 11 Terrorist Attacks. Because of the new playground's memorial status, the original playground will probably never be re-built. The original playground was made up of 3 sections: the first section contained a complex of chains for climbing, 3 platforms, and a very tall slide made of plastic (probably the tallest in Hoboken), which curved and could be seen over 6 blocks away. The second section was a large castle-like structure with a slide, two entrances and a pole for sliding. The third section was a series of unusual and unique space-like metal domes, which kids could crawl through and create echos. All of this equipment was disrespectfully trashed and thrown out in 2002. The new playground has only one section, and is considered by most to be unoriginal compared to the first playground. No photos are known to exist of the original playground.

There is also a separate memorial dedicated to John A. Sacci, a Hoboken High School teacher, who was shot in 1997. To this day, the word "remembrance" is misspelled on the marble monument.

There is a statue of Christopher Columbus in the center of the park. The park is the only county park in Hoboken.

Hoboken Island

Hoboken Island is a planned park⁷ in Hoboken, New Jersey, connected by a bridge to Pier A's gazebo, honoring the September 11, 2001 victims. The park was among many designs submitted to create a Hoboken 9/11 memorial. The "Hoboken Island" concept by the FLOW group was chosen in September 2004. When the park is constructed, a beam of light is planned to be in the center. There are 57 victims recognized in the project. Currently, there is a temporary memorial already on Pier A, in the form of a tear drop.

Frank Sinatra Park

Frank Sinatra Park is a park along the waterfront, offering views of Manhattan. It is very close to Pier A. Built around 1998, the park's name honors Frank Sinatra, who was born in Hoboken. Sinatra Park has a curved flat area facing the former site of the World Trade Center.) The park also has public attractions such as a soccer field and café.

On August 24, 2004, CNN came to Sinatra Park to shoot and broadcast live nationwide shows "Inside Politics" and Crossfire.

Gateway Park

Gateway Park is an official yet secluded park that was created in 2000 to help make the neighborhood more scenic. In 2002 Troop 146 cleaned up Gateway Park for Earth Day and also cleaned up nearby Jackson Street. The park itself has trees, grass, and a bird feeder. There is an official sign at the park that says "Your Park", although it does not say "Gateway Park" yet. The park is about as big as a gas station.

• Gateway Park is in the southwest corner of Hoboken.
• It is at the corner of Newark Street and Jackson Street on a block that is half in Hoboken and half in Jersey City.
• The park is shaped like a right triangle, with the bottom part of the triangle on the south, and the right part of the triangle on the east.
• Gateway Park is Hoboken's smallest park.
• The park is the southernmost park in Hoboken.
• The park shares a border with Jersey City to the south and to the west.
• Gateway Park is bordered to the south by train tracks, to the north and west by Newark Street (which is always busy and full of cars) and to the east by an abandoned building (the Windsor Wax Company).
• On 2 of the 3 sides the park is lined with pine trees.
• The "Your Park" sign says from top to bottom the following rules: Dogs must be on a leash, no alcoholic beverages, no defacing of property, no littering, no barbecuing. (Those are the standard rules for Hoboken parks.)

Jackson Street Park

Jackson Street Park is a park on Jackson Street near 1st street. Like Leigon Park in Hoboken, Jackson Street Park is surrounded on 3 sides by buildings and does not have a ceiling. It has a playground and a rock climbing wall. Most of the ground is gravel.

Madison Park

Madison Park (also called Madison Street Park) is at the corner of 3rd Street and Madison Street. There's a large abstract painting on the building that faces it. The original playground since the park's founding in 1991 contained a metal slide and a community trellis. The slide and trellis were destroyed in December 2006 to make way for park "renovation". The original playground is still visible on Google Earth.

Pier A

Pier A is an exceptional park in Hoboken, New Jersey. It was originally used as a pier for ships and was recrafted as a park in 1999. It extends from the southern end of Hoboken, with a view of the entire Manhattan skyline. At this point, the Hudson River starts to be affected by the tides in New York Bay. Pier A has a water-jet fountain, bike paths, rows of trees (some of them transplanted in maturity), a big field, a fishing area (with water pumps and cutting boards), and a gazebo at its eastern extremity. It is an example of good civic design, particularly the grass field which is firm and natural-looking though its sod is layered atop concrete. In warm weather movies are shown on it at night, the blazing Manhattan skyline rising behind the screen.

Panorama of Manhattan from Pier A

Many people witnessed the September 11, 2001 Attacks from Pier A because it had good views of the World Trade Center. On March 11, 2002 a memorial service was held on Pier A. On September 11, 2003 a section of land was created as a memorial for the September 11, 2001 victims (by planting trees).Currently, there is a temporary memorial to victims in the form of a tear drop. A permanent memorial, called Hoboken Island, is planned to be built.

Stevens Park

Stevens Park is a park in Hoboken, bordered on the west by St. Peter & Paul Church, on the south by the Marineview Plaza complex, on the east by the Hoboken Little League Field, and on the North by buildings of the Stevens Institute of Technology.

Within Stevens Park is a large playground and one of the few unique playgrounds left in Hoboken. Other one-of-a-kind playgrounds that have since been destroyed include the very tall playground in Columbus Park, destroyed in 2002, and the wooden playground in Church Square Park, destroyed in 1994.

There is also a very rare exposed section of Serpentine rock in the southern portion of the park, which has been eroded away over the years by people stepping on it. In the central section of the park is a dog run, which is smaller than the one in Church Square Park, and as a result, the park area surrounding the dog run is cleaner. Also, in the western part of the park are two cannons facing west towards the St. Peter & Paul Church's cafeteria.

Elysian Park

Elysian Park is a small park in Hoboken, New Jersey that is the last remnant of the Elysian Fields. Bounded on the west by Hudson Street, and the north and east by Sinatra Drive, Elysian Park has two play areas, a basketball court, a sprinkler, a dog run and rest rooms. The Northern end of prestigious Castle Point Terrace ends at the park.

It was featured in "On the Waterfront" starring Marlon Brando and Eva Marie Saint

External links

1. http://www.hobokennj.org/html/eservices/espvr.html
2. Hoboken's Clam Broth House Could Disappear
3. Cracked clam
4. Frank Sinatra's Hoboken: Walking Tour
5. Seattle Times article: "Famed New Jersey clam joint losing its shell" (requires registration)
6. Hoboken Reporter: Sybil's Cave
7. Fulltext of The Mystery of Marie Roget at Wikisource
8. http://www.hoboken911.com/html/fg1.htm
9. Marineview Plaza One at Skyscrapers.com
10. Marineview Plaza Two at Skyscrapers.com
11. On our way to 'New York, New York'
12. Maxwell's
13. New York Times: ‘Open Sesame’ Just Won’t Do: Hoboken Tries to Unlock Its Cave