Main Street: Virtual Historic Walking Tour

[Editor]

This is a work in progress.  Feel free to comment.  Thanks to Jeffrey Muller for suggesting it and helping me move forward. For the full version, go here. The full version lets you see a "street view" of the buildings up close and is much more functional.

Here's the printable version.


View Virtual Historic Walking Tour: Main Street, Hackensack, NJ in a larger map

[Homer Jones]

Couple of things you may have forgotten.

1.The Green.

2.The cemetery next to the Dutch Reformed Church.

3.The location of the Mansion House.

4.The plaque in front of the Doremus House showing that it was a stagecoach stop.

5.The plaques on Main and Atlantic showing the location of the school and the headmasters house

[just watching]

I don't know about 408 and 437 Main Street, is they considered historic ?.  Both would be on a very short list of highest-priority structures in the City of Hackensack to knock down and redevelop.

I would add to your list:

1.  USS Ling
2. the city's newly purchased cultural arts center
3. Holy Trinity Church, 2nd Reformed Church, Christ Episcopal, 1st Baptist, 1st Presbyterian, Calvary Baptist (Union & Central Ave)
4. The house on Clinton Place just east of Holy Trinity Church, is this possibly the oldest house in the city
5. NW corner of Park and Berry Street, this house was built in 1845
6. The ancient duplex House on Union Street next to (north of) First Presbyterian Church, this dates to mid-1800's. Unique architectural style for Hackensack. It's a one-of-a-kind.  It's right under the nose of BLeafe, and I don't think he's ever posted a photo of it.
7. Hackensack post office
8. NE corner of Main & Bergen Street, classic brick building now housing a low-budget chinese buffet. Very old, probably early-mid 1800's.
9. The big bank building, Main & Banta.  A few other of the big bank buildings (Main/Mercer, Main/Salem)
10. SE corner of Main & Passaic. This 4-story building is Civil War or pre-Civil War construction.  I think I read once 1850.
11. Hackensack city hall
12. White Manna
13. Old Jail building behind the courthouse

I'll add more if I think of them

[Editor]

This was originally a "Main Street" walking tour, but I see where we're headed.  Items can be added over time. Thanks for the input.  I keep plugging away.

[BLeafe]

It's right under the nose of BLeafe, and I don't think he's ever posted a photo of it.

So's my moustache, but I haven't posted that either. 



.

[Homer Jones]

And of course Prozy's.

[just watching]

Mr. Leafe, your photography excellence is hereby requested for what is believed to be the historic duplex on Union Street, which can be seen on the 1876 atlas of Hackensack.  It's the closest thing we have in Hackensack to a historic brownstone.

[BLeafe]

You mean this place?

I shot this a couple of months ago.

[just watching]

Yep, that's the one.  Glad you have at least one shot in the archives. Look at the old tongue-and-groove boards used for the roof.  Nobody realizes how old that house is, and how unique it is.

[BLeafe]

Here's another from last February:

[Editor]

FYI: This home is not in the Bergen County Historic Site Survey.  Can anyone tell me why it should be?  What do we know about it?

Just about every Union St. building south of Passaic St. is listed in the survey.

[just watching]

My understanding is that it is on the 1876 Atlas.

I can't vouch for how thorough a job the Bergen County Historic Site Survey did.  They seem to have focussed on particular neighborhoods and documented houses, and did a very good job where they focussed.  But they may not have got all the old houses scattered around the city.

[BLeafe]

I seem to recall seeing something to do with horses in that 1876 Atlas at that location. I also seem to recall the name "DeBaun", so I searched my hard drive and the below image came up.

Note that it says, "Union St   Nearly opposite Anderson Park".

I'll take a picture of the front of the current building tomorrow to see if there are any similarities.



.

[Editor]

There's a larger image of the Carriage Factory here.

1876 Walker Atlas detail and 1896 map detail appear below. On the 1876 map, you'll note the "DeBaun" property where Bob suspected. On the 1896 map, the drawing is not detailed enough for a positive identification. The question is, when was the subject building constructed.  Based on these maps, sometime after 1876, possibly by 1896, but I think we're still looking at the Carriage Factory in 1896.

[BLeafe]

If it's in the 1876 Atlas, I would think it existed before then and apparently it did - around 1873, according to the below review.

Here's the building (420 and 422 Union St) today and back then. They both have 6 windows on the second floor front, but with different spacing.

Below those images is that review, taken from "Industries of New Jersey: Hudson, Passaic and Bergen counties", by Richard Edwards, Historical Publishing Company.



.