Hackensack, NJ Community Message Boards

I went out this morning to take ONE picture on Main St and got distracted enough on the way that I wound up with 147 shots taken in two towns.

As I headed south on Main, I passed the YMCA and looked left to the river. The sun was shimmering on it. I always see that from home, but never from up close, so I headed down Passaic St.

I walked behind White Manna and took the first photo. The next river access was two doors down, where the palleted mess in the second photo caught my eye.

Continuing south, I encountered a black rhino in front of Ricca Auto Body (third photo). How long has this thing been there? I hadn't noticed it before.

When I got to the Midtown Bridge Approach, I saw that the Circle Brake property is now fenced-in. I was gonna head back up to Main, but decided to take some shots of Bowler City and the Ice House for some reason. It turned out to be a good move...........all of the rest of the photos here were taken on that detour.

The fourth photo shows one of my favorite birds - a mockingbird - screaming for his life because he just landed on a sticker bush (ouch!) right at the entrance to Bowler City (Actually, he was warbling his entire repertoire and you can hear some of it below..............I don't know what happened to the focusing).

I decided to walk across the Midtown Bridge and took a sharp right into the park in Bogota (Olsen Park?). I walked the short paved path and beyond so I could get a clear shot (fifth photo) of the old County Jail, the Courthouse dome, the Church on the Green steeple, the carcass of the Court St Bridge, the USS LIng, and the Susquehanna tracks across the river.

I followed a dirt path that brought me to the tracks and found four tracks crossing the river at that point instead of two (sixth photo).  Are they old trolley tracks or old RR tracks with newer ones built right next to them?

In any event, the old ones begin and end at the river banks. I wonder why they're still there.

Now backtracking, I encountered a couple of geese swimming toward me. One is shown in the seventh picture. The other got out of the water and started to take a couple of steps toward me. I doubt it was because my camera looked like a slice of bread.

After crossing the bridge back into Hackensack, I noticed that traffic and a runner appeared to be heading toward the Johnson Library (eighth photo).

The ninth photo is a closeup of a window in the Circle Brake building - decrepit, but cool-looking.

By this time, the light had shifted and I never got my Main St shot.



<a href="http://img64.imageshack.us/flvplayer.swf?f=Mgzg" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="bbc_link bbc_flash_disabled new_win">http://img64.imageshack.us/flvplayer.swf?f=Mgzg</a>

Hackensack, April 1, 2011


Why was heavy scaffolding surrounding the dome of the Bergen County Courthouse yesterday?

Two words: budget cuts.

Continuing her crusade to get a handle on expenses, Bergen County Executive Kathleen Donovan decided there was a bit too much gold atop the Courthouse.  After declaring that "heads will roll", she ordered that Enlightenment's noggin be replaced with that of another local icon (see Before and After below).









It appears to be not only an aesthetic improvement that uses less of the precious metal, but it's also scaring away hordes of pooping pigeons, thus lowering the external maintenance budget of the Courthouse area as well.

Well done, Ms. Donovan!

http://cgi.ebay.com/Three-Hundred-Years-Story-Hackensack-Signed-Koehler-/370497617266?pt=US_Nonfiction_Book&hash=item564360fd72

Description:

Old Book Titled Three Hundred Years Story of Hackensack Valley

Signed by Francis C Koehler Author

Bio on Author

First Edition 1940

http://www.201.net/issues/2009/03/features/Koehler.story?ct=&pt=topic&pv=History&sort=-1

Book has a flocking on paper type cover.  Appears complete but binding is rough and many pages taped in.

Hand set in Caslon type made by the American Type founders designed by Mr Caslon
Illustrated by wood engravings all but four illustrations excepting the half tones. are printed from wood engravings especially executed for this particular book


DO check out that link in the description................very interesting! Mr. Koehler lived on Clinton Pl, was active in Hackensack government, and was the first Hackensack Riverkeeper.



.

The first one is just something I saw out my window when the sun reflected off the circular object.

Ya gotta love Geri's colors (click to enlarge).

The last one I took this afternoon from my living room as two fighter jets leave the area after flying over Yankee Stadium on Opening Day. They were probably still over the Bronx, at least 10 miles away. The foliage is in Fort Lee/Cliffside Park.

Hammy gets published in the Hackensack Riverkeeper newsletter, but is upstaged by the mayor!

My bedroom A/C morphs into a penthouse balcony!

Film at 11!


(click to enlarge)

http://cgi.ebay.com/Banks-River-Hackensack-NJ-1929-Postcard-/120704869237?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1c1a922375


I don't recall what the function of that building was. A pumping station?

I stood on the center of the park fountain - something I probably won't be able to do in the summer - and, using a monopod to try to maintain my framing, took 12 pictures in a circular fashion. Just think of looking down on an analog clock jumping ahead 5 minutes for each picture angle until the hour is complete.

I've done a few of these merged photos previously and the stitching on many of them was a disaster. I actually did 4 varieties of this shot today and 2 were so far off that they couldn't be merged. A third was barely passable, but the one below came out fairly well............unless you're a big fan of the Holy Trinity Church steeple.

The final merged photo is almost 10 times larger than what you see below, so be sure to CLICK ON IT to see it full-size.