wintergreen88 wrote:
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bryceman70 wrote:
Several memories. One maybe someone can remember:
I vaguely remember between Oakland Avenue and Cook Street where now is a huge parking lot...there was a gully, a bid deep crater. In it were several rows of army-style buildings in which Black Families lived. It was bulldozed and now a parking lot for over ....55 years? Was I hallucinating or was it really there?
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Other Memories, THE GOOD: Fisher Beer was the 5 & 10 next to the State Theater.
The huge vacant lot between Summit Ave and JFK (formerly HUDSON) Blvd. Only the library and one St. John's Apts. building was there, between them...it looked like Hiroshima after the blast for a few years in the early 1960's around the time Kennedy was shot.
ACME Super Market on Hoboken and Summit Aves. where the Hudson Bank drive-in now stands.

The Rosewood Malt Shop on Bergen Ave. near Vroom ST. had swastika tyles on the floor (obviously put there long before Hitler)

Bickford's on the Square and the McGinley Square Bus Station(where the tramps hung out inside who looked like out've the Great Depression).
Coward Shoes
Thorne's Women's where owned by a former Czech movie star prior to WW 2.

The Pix Theater Saturday Matinees which showed movies later put on CHILLER THEATER on t.v.
Other Memories: THE BAD:

The Jersey Journal use to print "A Negro" if someone arrested was Black. They'd put his name, the above , his age and address. They didn't do it for any other race. They continued to do it until I think Dr. King was killed(old Microfilms at the Jersey Ave. library will prove what I say).

Kids with "funny names" that weren't Irish or Italian were open-targets for bullies. Even in the Catholic Schools. When the first Black kid came to our Catholic school (I won't say the name to avoid embarassment-you'll know which one!) the other kids jumped on him like paranas. I don't recall what happened to him. His first name was Joseph and the last name started with a T.. That's all I'll share.

Other Meories: THE UGLY:

If you were suspected to be gay in Jersey City of the Old Days you had as much of a chance as a Hassidic Jew in 1940 Berlin. Now Jersey City was ranked #3 in the state for Gay Friendly.


The Jersey Journal use to print Sodomy arrests and "suspected homosexuals" arrested on suspicion, their names and addresses in the paper. Again, check the microfilms.
Neighborhoods had "color lines" usually enforced by some checker-shirted Archie Bunker who lived on the street who hoisted the Star Spangled Banner every morning on his porch). I was told once that a little kid I invited to the wading pool in my yard had to go away because "a neighbor complained I violated the color line" to my parents.
He was a dark-complexioned Hispanic*(*that made it even worse). ------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jersey City, like any place in the country or the world, has its good memories and bad. These are part of our history. What is important is what we've become and we're a vibrant multi-cultured and welcoming city now. We are not a "little red neck town frozen in the 1950's" as some New Yorkers said about us back then.
I love Jersey City and am also a historian.
Final note, a foundation of one of the towering beams for the old trolley tressle to Hoboken is still under the State Highway ramp to the Holland Tunnel, know where it is?

What you wrote is interesting. There were several people on FB's "We Grew Up in Jersey City" web page trying to convince me that ethnic relations in the '40s & '50s were great. I didn't believe them especially after reading Helen Stapinski's book "Five Finger Discount" in which she wrote about the ethnic division in JC in the early '60s & prior to this time.

I had been trying to recall the name of the 5&10 store which was next to the State Theater. Fisher Beer was still at that location in the mid-'70s, wasn't it? I lived in JC from July of '74 to June of '75.

wintergreen88 wrote:
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shadrack wrote:
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wintergreen88 wrote:
Where was the Woolworth store in Journal Square located? Was it near the State Theater? I remember going to a department store which was near the State Theater in the mid '70s. The store was probably Woolworth, Lynns or Moriel's.

Woolworth was near the old Hudson Tubes (PATH) transportation Hub before the new complex was completed in 1976. Woolworth was across from the Tube Bar and pizzeria.

Across the street from the State Theater was Liss Pharmacy which was as large as a department store complete with a lunch counter. Next to the Lowes Theater was J.M. Fields which is now the C.H. Martin.

Thanks, Shadrack! I'm not sure why but someone mistakenly told me that there was a Woolworth store near the State Theater. There was probably another department store near the State Theater which I may have visited. I remember Liss Pharmacy & J.M. Fields. I used to go to Liss Pharmacy for cold remedies. I went to J.M. Fields to shop for school clothes before the school year began when I was living in JC. I left the city in late June of '75.

It could be that a Wolworth store existed near the State Theater during an earlier time period than the '70s

This 1972 photo shows Kennedy Boulevard near Journal Square.
(State Theater, Rags to Riches, Joyce Leslie, Moriel?s, Lynns, Kitty Kelly & Danny Mack shoe stores) http://bus.nycsubway.org/perl/show?656

shadrack wrote:
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wintergreen88 wrote:
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shadrack wrote:
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wintergreen88 wrote:

I remember a deli/convenience store which was across the street from DHS. Perhaps Rands was located near the deli. My friends & I used to purchase snacks from the deli during lunch break when we were attending Dickinson H.S. The name Rands seems familiar but I don't recall if I've ever been to the restaurant.

Louie's Candy Store on Newark was popular with DHS students... candy, comic books, and loose cigarettes for a dime. It was on Newark and Palisade across from the school and Hudson Gardens. High Pockets (later the Bus Stop) was the bar on the corner of Chestnut and Newark Avenues.

I vaguely recall a liquor store type of business which was located on the corner of Newark & Chestnut Avenues. Perhaps the liquor store I remember was the bar.

That is Mars Liquors. It's still there under different owners for the last 20 years. The old Mars was a great deli. The old High Pockets (later Bus Stop) Bar is a Spanish restaurant on Newark and Chestnut. The Dominican Bodega on the east corner of Newark and Chestnut was a Salvation Army Store.

Rich wrote:
Quote:

wintergreen88 wrote:
How long did the Robert Hall store on Route 440 in JC exist?

I remember when it was over on Jordan Avenue

bryceman70 wrote:
Several memories. One maybe someone can remember:
I vaguely remember between Oakland Avenue and Cook Street where now is a huge parking lot...there was a gully, a bid deep crater. In it were several rows of army-style buildings in which Black Families lived. It was bulldozed and now a parking lot for over ....55 years? Was I hallucinating or was it really there?
--------------------------------------------------------------------

Other Memories, THE GOOD: Fisher Beer was the 5 & 10 next to the State Theater.
The huge vacant lot between Summit Ave and JFK (formerly HUDSON) Blvd. Only the library and one St. John's Apts. building was there, between them...it looked like Hiroshima after the blast for a few years in the early 1960's around the time Kennedy was shot.
ACME Super Market on Hoboken and Summit Aves. where the Hudson Bank drive-in now stands.

The Rosewood Malt Shop on Bergen Ave. near Vroom ST. had swastika tyles on the floor (obviously put there long before Hitler)

Bickford's on the Square and the McGinley Square Bus Station(where the tramps hung out inside who looked like out've the Great Depression).
Coward Shoes
Thorne's Women's where owned by a former Czech movie star prior to WW 2.

The Pix Theater Saturday Matinees which showed movies later put on CHILLER THEATER on t.v.
Other Memories: THE BAD:

The Jersey Journal use to print "A Negro" if someone arrested was Black. They'd put his name, the above , his age and address. They didn't do it for any other race. They continued to do it until I think Dr. King was killed(old Microfilms at the Jersey Ave. library will prove what I say).

Kids with "funny names" that weren't Irish or Italian were open-targets for bullies. Even in the Catholic Schools. When the first Black kid came to our Catholic school (I won't say the name to avoid embarassment-you'll know which one!) the other kids jumped on him like paranas. I don't recall what happened to him. His first name was Joseph and the last name started with a T.. That's all I'll share.

Other Meories: THE UGLY:

If you were suspected to be gay in Jersey City of the Old Days you had as much of a chance as a Hassidic Jew in 1940 Berlin. Now Jersey City was ranked #3 in the state for Gay Friendly.


The Jersey Journal use to print Sodomy arrests and "suspected homosexuals" arrested on suspicion, their names and addresses in the paper. Again, check the microfilms.
Neighborhoods had "color lines" usually enforced by some checker-shirted Archie Bunker who lived on the street who hoisted the Star Spangled Banner every morning on his porch). I was told once that a little kid I invited to the wading pool in my yard had to go away because "a neighbor complained I violated the color line" to my parents.
He was a dark-complexioned Hispanic*(*that made it even worse). ------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jersey City, like any place in the country or the world, has its good memories and bad. These are part of our history. What is important is what we've become and we're a vibrant multi-cultured and welcoming city now. We are not a "little red neck town frozen in the 1950's" as some New Yorkers said about us back then.
I love Jersey City and am also a historian.
Final note, a foundation of one of the towering beams for the old trolley tressle to Hoboken is still under the State Highway ramp to the Holland Tunnel, know where it is?

Darkvark wrote:
Brummers was located in the Junction area where Communipaw Avenue meets Grand Street and Ocean Avenue, about two blocks from St Patrick's Church. It's now an insurance office. The soda fountain was a classic marble top which was absolutely beautiful . I wonder what ever happened to it.

JerseyCityFrankie wrote:
So THATS why. Jeez I never would have guessed it was the girls causing all the trouble. Good thing we have a courageous campaigner like Epps whos not afraid to say it like it is!

wintergreen88 wrote:
Quote:

I remember a deli/convenience store which was across the street from DHS. Perhaps Rands was located near the deli. My friends & I used to purchase snacks from the deli during lunch break when we were attending Dickinson H.S. The name Rands seems familiar but I don't recall if I've ever been to the restaurant.

Louie's Candy Store on Newark was popular with DHS students... candy, comic books, and loose cigarettes for a dime. It was on Newark and Palisade across from the school and Hudson Gardens. High Pockets (later the Bus Stop) was the bar on the corner of Chestnut and Newark Avenues.

shadrack wrote:
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wintergreen88 wrote:
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shadrack wrote:
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wintergreen88 wrote:
The Driftwood restaurant was next to the State Theater according various posts on to this discussion. However, a friend of mine remembers an ice cream parlor/restaurant that was next to the State Theater. Perhaps the ice cream parlor/restaurant existed during an earlier time period. Was that ice cream parlor/restaurant which was next to the State Theater named Rand's Ice Cream or was it Brummer's Ice Cream Parlor?

Rands was located on Newark Avenue across the street from DHS, so it must have been Brummers. The Rands property was a check cashing place (closed now) and the parking lot is currently rented for long term parking.

Rands was the best ice cream that I had ever had. During the Summer even before they closed, the line for ice cream was always long.

I remember a deli/convenience store which was across the street from DHS. Perhaps Rands was located near the deli. My friends & I used to purchase snacks from the deli during lunch break when we were attending Dickinson H.S. The name Rands seems familiar but I don't recall if I've ever been to the restaurant.

Louie's Candy Store on Newark was popular with DHS students... candy, comic books, and loose cigarettes for a dime. It was on Newark and Palisade across from the school and Hudson Gardens. High Pockets (later the Bus Stop) was the bar on the corner of Chestnut and Newark Avenues.

shadrack wrote:
Quote:

wintergreen88 wrote:
The Driftwood restaurant was next to the State Theater according various posts on to this discussion. However, a friend of mine remembers an ice cream parlor/restaurant that was next to the State Theater. Perhaps the ice cream parlor/restaurant existed during an earlier time period. Was that ice cream parlor/restaurant which was next to the State Theater named Rand's Ice Cream or was it Brummer's Ice Cream Parlor?

Rands was located on Newark Avenue across the street from DHS, so it must have been Brummers. The Rands property was a check cashing place (closed now) and the parking lot is currently rented for long term parking.

Rands was the best ice cream that I had ever had. During the Summer even before they closed, the line for ice cream was always long.

GrovePath wrote:
Jersey City man pleads guilty to selling drugs from home

Published: Tuesday, June 28, 2011, 3:00 AM
By Charles Hack/The Jersey Journal

A 32-year-old Jersey City man faces seven years in prison after pleading guilty yesterday to dealing drugs from his home, officials said.

Erik Jordan, 33, of Cator Avenue, pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute a controlled dangerous substance within 1,000 feet of a school and certain persons not to have weapons, said Assistant Prosecutor Lisa DeMartini.

GrovePath wrote:
Boys on bicycles rob Jersey City man, 59

Published: Monday, June 27, 2011, 3:00 AM
Charles Hack/The Jersey Journal

A group of teenage cyclists surrounded and robbed a 59-year-old Jersey City man Saturday, police reports said.

The victim told police he was walking on Roosevelt Avenue at 1:35 a.m. when four boys with bicycles surrounded him and one of them hit him in the back with a bike, knocking him to the ground, and robbed him of his wallet and cell phone.

heights wrote:
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wintergreen88 wrote:
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heights wrote:
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wintergreen88 wrote:
How long did the Robert Hall store on Route 440 in JC exist?

Great question, if you go to the N.J Room in the main library they have old telephone books start looking up the store either in the white pages under RH or under clothing in the yellow pages. I bet the county has records of this place as well. You'll obviously have to do some diging and heavy research.

I've thought of looking at old telephone books to find the information. I've been told by a friend who lived in JC until the early '70s that the Robert Hall store on Route 440 closed in the mid '60s.

I remember my mother taking me there in the early to mid '70's for school clothes so that place must have been in business throughout the decade of the '70's.

heights wrote:
Quote:

wintergreen88 wrote:
How long did the Robert Hall store on Route 440 in JC exist?

Great question, if you go to the N.J Room in the main library they have old telephone books start looking up the store either in the white pages under RH or under clothing in the yellow pages. I bet the county has records of this place as well. You'll obviously have to do some diging and heavy research.

Red-Deutsch wrote:

Anyone remember Bonetti Pizza on Kennedy Blvd? That's got to be gone close to 25 years, and I think the sign is still there and I think the store front is still vacant.

shadrack wrote:
Quote:

wintergreen88 wrote:
Where was the Woolworth store in Journal Square located? Was it near the State Theater? I remember going to a department store which was near the State Theater in the mid '70s. The store was probably Woolworth, Lynns or Moriel's.

Woolworth was near the old Hudson Tubes (PATH) transportation Hub before the new complex was completed in 1976. Woolworth was across from the Tube Bar and pizzeria.

Across the street from the State Theater was Liss Pharmacy which was as large as a department store complete with a lunch counter. Next to the Lowes Theater was J.M. Fields which is now the C.H. Martin.

shadrack wrote:
- Fights at Dickinson H.S between the Sons of Marion and Brothers of the Jersey City Heights

heights wrote:
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wintergreen88 wrote:
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shadrack wrote:
* Tippy's in the Heights on Kennedy Blvd (garden center now)

* Rands Ice Cream between Pavonia and Newark Avenues. It was the best ice cream anywhere. People walked or drove from all parts of Jersey City for their sundaes (now a closed down check cashing place).

* Lunch counter at Liss Pharmacy up the square. Big haired servers that worshiped Mayor Hague and probably got lucky on Armistice Day. Great BLTs and coffee.

How long did Liss Drugs have a lunch counter? I lived in JC from early July '74 to the end of June '75 but I don't remember seeing a lunch counter at the drugstore which probably existed at the time.

It was all the way in the back to the left, there might have been just tables unless the counter was where the soda fountains were.

shadrack wrote:
* Tippy's in the Heights on Kennedy Blvd (garden center now)

* Rands Ice Cream between Pavonia and Newark Avenues. It was the best ice cream anywhere. People walked or drove from all parts of Jersey City for their sundaes (now a closed down check cashing place).

* Lunch counter at Liss Pharmacy up the square. Big haired servers that worshiped Mayor Hague and probably got lucky on Armistice Day. Great BLTs and coffee.

JCbiscuit wrote:
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shadrack wrote:
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Blumpkin wrote:
the genius who dropped the bowling ball from 139 onto 1-9 traffic and killed an infant. i wonder if he is still locked up.

Oh man... that was terrible. I hope he is. I remember that and the poor couple drove their battered baby to St. Francis which was the first hospital sign they saw as they drove another half mile. I believe a friend of his turned him in to the police.

Up until just a few years ago, there were remnants of a memorial on State Highway.

I had heard they never caught the guy. glad I was mistaken.

Youth Held in Death from Bowling Ball - NYT 1994

shadrack wrote:
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Blumpkin wrote:
the genius who dropped the bowling ball from 139 onto 1-9 traffic and killed an infant. i wonder if he is still locked up.

Oh man... that was terrible. I hope he is. I remember that and the poor couple drove their battered baby to St. Francis which was the first hospital sign they saw as they drove another half mile. I believe a friend of his turned him in to the police.

Up until just a few years ago, there were remnants of a memorial on State Highway.

The good ole sucked sometimes too. A friend of mine was stabbed to death in outside of Hamilton Park coming home from a school dance in the late 1970's. He was good kid with a lot of promise.

I also remember the "grave robbers" desecrating the crypts at Harsimus Cometary. Sad.

shadrack wrote:
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heights wrote:
How about when the main county road was called Hudson Boulevard, and the buses that ran along it were the #1 from JSQ to Nunguessers, and the #5 for Nyc. Also when the Central Ave. bus was brown and it ran through the Western Slope in the Heights.

Oh yeah... smelliest busses of all time. I think that the Central Avenue line was privately owned and up until 1980 ran a few old busses that were built in the 1950's.

With all of this nostalgia, let's not forget that some Jersey City's Puritan laws and overt racism. My family had a brick thrown through our front window because we were the first Latino family in our neighborhood. The police also pulled my father out of a car in front of our home and beat him during a cold winter day. Pretty tough for a four year old son to watch.

"Coloreds" weren't allowed in my neighborhood. I thought my first name was "hey spic" and I also had to sprint home from Sunday school so the Irish and Italian kids wouldn't kick my Puerto Rican butt after we said our seven Hail Marys.

There were also wonderful people in my neighborhood who defended my family against thugs, and were very supportive when my dad lost his job in the 1960's. Despite some of the problems, everyone was on the front stoop of their homes and there was a real sense of involvement in the community. There was always one community leader who got the city to provide a bus for a day trip to the shore or Lake Hopatcong.

Strangely, years later, some of those same Irish and Italian kids who chased me home from Sunday school happen to be good friends of mine.