Hackensack, NJ Community Message Boards
General Category => Hackensack History => Topic started by: prospectgirl on December 13, 2008, 05:04:43 AM
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Thank you...do you know how frequently your site is accessed each day? I am not a big fan of the Internet, but I am pleasantly stunned to see such treasure on this site. I had no idea the Web could offer such reward.
I lived on Fairmount Ave in a lovely Victorian-styled home until I turned four years old. My family then moved to a "mansion" on the "hill' where I lived on Prospect Ave until a few months after my 14th birthday. Although I moved away before my college years, Hackensack has continued to fascinate me. This website has renewed and intensified my interest. Moreover, I actually have much to share about the families on Fairmont, Prospect and Summit Avenues from the end of 1940's until 1960.
My immediate question is does anyone know what has become of Dorothy Borg Packard (who meant much to my family) and her family (son Peter, father Mr. Borg) and of their homes (Borgs' and Packards')? Also, might anyone remember the home next to the Packard "mansion", the ivy-covered home owned by the Ayssah family from (then)Persia who operated or owned a Mercedes import business (circa 1950)? Further, I am curious to learn anything of the history of the majestic home across the avenue from our own home. Unfortunately, I can no longer recall the name of the family who owned it.
As a small child, I watched trucks deliver full movie sets and camera equipment to film the exquisite property situated on the corner
of Central Avenue and Prospect. Would any contributors know of any source that might provide information concerning major film productions of the early 1950's in Hackensack? To me, the Southern architecture of the white-pillared mansion rivaled the Brewster Tudor mansion's in both size and elegance. The white mansion home was set on a very steep incline that backed up to Third Avenue
at its base. In winter, my brothers and I spent long hours with other neighborhood children sledding down its great hills after each and every snowstorm of my childhood. And, I fondly remember the kindness of their servants who checked on us throughout the day, yet never chased us off the hills until darkness threatened to close in. Each February, I would trudge up the long path to their front door, toting boxes of the Girl Scout cookies they had ordered. Though I recall that my parents had but a few occasions to make neighborly contact with the people of the great white house, one particular instance does stand out. One afternoon, my baby sister, then two, leaped into the front seat of the family car and, before anyone else could seat themselves beside her,she knocked the emergency brake free. The car careened with its door wide open down the very steep and swervy driveway, barely missing several massive beech trees. Watching the baby tossing about inside it, we all stood frozen, in shock, as the car blazed across the big wide Avenue. Miraculously, it slid through oncoming traffic, hopped the curb, and threaded between two more trees before crashing into the thick six -foot high shrubbery of the mansion we all referred to as Tara House (after the Plantation of movie fame). Although my little sister bore hardly a scratch, my family and the neighbors were all greatly shaken. After that day, we frequented for a time the owner of "Tara" to assure our neighbor my sister was healing her bumps and bruises. Still to this day, printed on my memory is the majesty of that home,the sparkling grandeur of its chandeliers,the span and height of its walls and ceilings,the warmth and colors of its greenhouse, a structure that fascinated even me, a young girl whose own family gardens exhibited splendid variety. On those visits, a woman of charm and elegance showed us the kind of hospitality and concern that matched the southern warmth of her home. Those were different times; they were.
Although our home spanned across several large lots, it was no match to the splendor and size of many of the other great homes.The interiors of those beautiful old homes on Prospect were truly as extraordinary as the interior of our own home was unique. Now, I am hoping someone might share additional information to share that might fill some of the gaps in the history of our two family homes and any of our neighbors, as well as any knowledge of either of the two neighborhoods of my Hackensack childhood.
Perhaps the most intriguing of all the stories I was told in childhood, was the local version that our Prospect home had been built by the mid 1800's and was said to have been a home whose history and unique structure had been connected to the history of the underground railroad. Stories of the man who had owned our home were often told to us by several of the servants who resided at the bottom of Central's hill, two others who lived in our family home, and a few who worked for other families on the hill. One servant woman, named Ruth, worked for the doctor who owned a home behind ours (up on Summit Ave). Ruth adored my mother. She held a fearful respect for our property and she was the bearer of many stories. Before we bought our home my parents had been sufficiently warned by others about its strange history. Either because we had been so informed or because the home was of such interest to others, on many occasions the Hackensack Police were summoned to settle our fright and check our premises for many unsolved mischiefs. We were told by the police that since our home was so huge, they suspected that homeless persons might be responsible for the unexplainables. A dominant set of such memories remains entwined with the love and pleasurable memories I hold for my unusual childhood home. Among other dreams that keep me tied to Hackensack is that I would like to find a way to locate (or recreate from memory) its floor plan. Likely, my family's imagination was captured by Dear Ruth. Surely our home was as rickety and squeaky and breezy as any other century-old home might be. Still, I remain fairly certain there must be a scent of history in the forebodings that started those women to wagging, and wag they did. For years my father (a contractor) had kept many sheets of large blueprints that I assume are now lost. Would anyone have any knowledge of any homes of the mid 1800's whose design was amenable to protect slaves? Do such homes really exist? Does anyone know of figures who may have been involved with the underground railroad in the Bergen County area? Could any such historical effects possibly remain of the building plans of any of those great homes?
I am fascinated with all things "Hackensack", not only Prospect Avenue; in fact, I am just as interested to learn more about my family's earlier home on Fairmont Avenue. I am no young girl for sure, but my memory of that Fairmont home is clear and vivid and my memories of those neighbors are ever warm and sweet. For instance, does anyone know of Frances Hess who lived on Fairmont, too? She was a teacher at Fairmont's elementary in the 1940's through the 50's at least. Her daughter Patty was my first best friend. I remember many details of their home, nearly as well as I do each of my own childhood homes. And Ava Allen and her little sister who carried an accent from their previous home in Johannesburg, South Africa and lived on the small side street nearest the school. Or Phillip, the first boy I ever liked, from around the corner and whose last name I cannot think of today (he actually ate my mud pies). And what of Bobby Wickersheim, the blonde-haired terror of Fairmont Avenue. Also, my grandparent-like friends, Mr. and Mrs. Shields who always invited me in to sit and chat on the straw-seated, child's ladder-back chair they kept on their front porch that was just my size!
Thank You Hackensack!
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Thank you for your kind words about the site and for sharing your wonderful memories. I can't take much credit because many others contribute more than I do. I just started the site and and keep it running.
I'll look into your questions and write back as I learn more. In the meantime, I thought you might find these topics interesting:
Brewster's Mansion (http://www.hackensacknow.org/index.php/topic,448.0.html) (Images and memories of that home.)
Edward Beech Craft (http://www.hackensacknow.org/index.php/topic,695.0.html) (Famous Prospect resident involved with motion pictures.)
Little Ferry Painting by Benedickt Franz Hess. (http://bergencountyhistory.org/forums/index.php/topic,424.msg888.html#msg888) (This is on the Bergen County Historical Society message boards and I wonder if this is a relation to the Hess you mentioned).
Borgs Woods (http://www.hackensacknow.org/index.php/topic,551.0.html) (Memories of Borgs woods).
I'm sadden to tell you that Bob Wickersheim passed away recently. Terror? The Wickersheims I know are all gentlemen. ;o). His sons carry on the family business.
I have images from several Prospect Avenue homes which I will scan and upload soon.
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Editor,
Many thanks to you for your obvious dedication to this site. I have been moved by the onslaught of rich memories it has evoked. Did you know Bobby well? I am sorrowed. Funny how these connections hold to hearts throughout the years.The Bobby Wickersheim I remember was, I believe, a wee bit older than I. I lived at that home until Summer of the year I turned four in 1948. If he is theone and the same, I have stories that will make you roar. Our family loved the Wickersheims and, if my memory serves me, found them to be warm and colorful. I remember his coming to Prospect on my birthday bashes, extravaganzas that my grandparents orchestrated each year, but for how long I do not remember. I think my dad and his had some business connection,however. I am saddened that before the advent of a site such as this, I never sought other ways to connect with my childhood.Maybe this is an age-thing ;)! I will respond on all others soon. At the moment I am up to my neck in papers to grade for tomorrow. Bye for now....Mrs.T
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The original author didn't say where she lived, and when was the last time returned to Hackensack. There are only four (that's right, 3) of the original houses left on the entire mile-long length of Prospect Ave from Essex to Passaic. The most authentic is on the SW corner of Golf Place and Prospect, I used to tell my daughter that was Cinderella's house. Two more are on Prospect at the SW corner of Berry Street (both converted to office use), and one more that is 2 doors south is still standing but owned by investors hoping to build a huge nursing home. The rest of the street is redeveloped, mostly for magnificient high-rises. Like Manhattan with front lawns. Several of them are very affluent, and have brought great prestige to the city. The "hospital" is now one of the largest in the nation, now called Hackensack University Medical Center. www.humc.org ? It is monstrous and still gobbling up land. The city has directed all future hospital growth EAST, towards Railroad Ave.
Let's set the record straight on the history of Prospect Ave. None of the houses on Prospect Ave were built before 1880, and most probably 1890 -1910. It was a group of wealthy realtors from NYC who bought up all the land on Prospect Ave, and built estates to be served by the Prospect Ave rail station (established around 1880 ?) and the Hackensack Golf Club. There's documentation about all that somewhere on this website, and in other printed sources. Sorry to throw water on the idea of the mansions predating the civil war. Try State or Union Street for houses that old, if you are lucky. In 1880, there was nothing on Prospect Ave except the massive 3-story Jewelry factory and several squalid tenement houses for the workers. This was clustered at the SW corner of Prospect and Berry. These structures appear on 1876 and 1898 maps of the city, and they were known to historian George Scudder. The rest of the street was pasture and woodlands, and perhaps a few small houses. Luxury houses started to be built on Prospect Ave around Central Ave (near the train station), and slowly worked northwards over several decades. At some point, the Jewelry factory and the tenements were forced off the hill, exact date is yet to be determined, so that more luxury houses could be built on that stretch of the street.
The 7-acre Brewster estate is now occupied by three high rises (World Plaza north, World Plaza South, Prospect Towers), and a 5-story building on Third Street. All the buildings have vehicular and pedestrian access ONLY to Prospect Ave. I guess there is over 500 units where one estate used to stand.
The very first high-rise built on Prospect Ave replaced the Packard's house, it is called the WhiteHall. Built in 1965. Actually the Executive House on Beech Street predates the WhiteHall, but it's "off Prospect". All of Summit Avenue is still houses north of Beech Street. Some of them are nice, but don't rival the best of Prospect Ave. Preserving the zoning of Summit Ave remains very high on the list of political priorities in Hackensack. City hall knows that thousands of condo and apartment residents on Prospect would hire attorneys and protest any loss of their view, so it is safe to say that high-rises will never spread to Summit Ave.
The Borg family moved to 655 Summit Ave. I believe Donald Borg died in 1975. Following family tradition, his son Malcolm attempted to build a large multi-unit complex in the woodlands they owned stretching from the Maywood border to the rear of their Summit Ave house. They were defeated, and the 15 acres is now the Borg's Woods Nature Preserve, owned by the County.
You would still recognize Fairmount Ave. There is a few new buildings east of Grand Ave, all the houses further west still stand.
Wickersheim's descendants are still active in Hackensack, they own a plumbing business. Involved in PTA's as well. A few years back, they were denied a request to the Zoning Board to construct a large contractor's garage in a residential neighborhood. A lot of the older families no longer live in the city, and the demographics has changed greatly. Hackensack looks like the United Nations. That's OK since there isn't a situation of one group taking over the city. Give the Wickersheim's some credit for sticking around.
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Thank you for your response, I am so pleased to learn so much so quickly. As to your inquiry, I have lived in Florida since just before college. The last time I returned home was for my dear mother's funeral and burial at St. Joseph's Cemetery (over where Holly's used to be?) That was 1990/November. Since then, I have not returned home, and I did not go up to Prospect at that time. Indeed, I am wondering about those very old pictures you posted that were from the "Long" property. One of remarks on those photos seemed to imply that it was the property located just a few lots from the corner of Prospect and Central. It spurred my interest greatly. Our address was 253-257. If you have the interest to share more, and some time to respond, I would like to know which of the high-rise structures sits on that piece today.
After we moved out of our Prospect home, it was partially destroyed by fire and sat for quite a long while. I believe the fire was in November and that the house had been under contract before that incident. Do you know any of those details? My parents were greatly distressed. There was quite a hullaballo about whether the house would be repaired or not. The name of that lawyer, I think, is Emil Wulster(sp?). We had moved to a luxury high-rise on the top floor of a building on the Palisades Cliffs, but at the time of the fire, not all of our possessions had been removed from the home pending final sale.
Honestly, it sickens me that almost all of the old homes were destroyed. The hill homes were amazing. I really appreciate your info on the impossibilities of the Ruth and friends' stories, guess it was lore or plain old story-spinning. Actually, I had started to piece that timeline together a bit after I saw those photos. That prompted my first post. I still think one of the photos may be a view of our property, but I get disoriented when I look for clues. Maybe you can help me get clarification. That is why I tapped on your blue window.
Much of my knowledge of Prospect's history is cloaked in the memories of those above-mentioned kitchen stories. My mother loved Ruth very much. And I keep trying to remember her husband's name. I think he worked for my father as a clothing machine presser. Also, I think our family may have owned Jack's cleaners at one time, or Topps, or both. Not sure, I was really young then. My dad also owned mechanic shops at the time, somewhere near the little side street over by the court house. He owned a lot in those years. When we lived on Fairmont, he worked for Western Electric. Wonder if anyone his age (90) may still be alive from Fairmont who might know? My mom once said he won a settlement in a patent case with Western. All I know is he did very well at a young age, well before the Prospect years. Do you know anything about the cleaners in those years and who owned them when?
Missing Hackensack….
Mrs.T
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I think the Blair House is 235 Prospect, The Camelot is at 245 Prospect Ave. The next one is The Bristol House (behind the synagogue), followed by the Barridge House. The original author said her house was 253-257 Prospect. My guess is that address is probably the entry driveway to the Camelot. That's a 20 or 21 story ultra-luxury condominium.
She can be sad all she wants about the loss of the estates, and I appreciate the value of large estates with architectural distinction, however....
I remain convinced that the development of high-rises on Prospect Ave saved Hackensack from being consumed by inner city decline which would have otherwise occured in the 1970's. For several reasons: (1) their presence has caused rents and property values throughout the city to rise, or it kept them from falling. (2) they contribute an enormous amount of tax revenue and place almost no burden on schools, police, etc. (3) they brought in a large population of young professional people, and (4) their existance makes Hackensack a trendy and "mainstream" place, which has helped the entire city to attract and maintain middle and middle-upper income renters, as well as homeowners.
We could have instead become another Paterson or Irvington. And then the estates would have been torn down anyway to make garden apartments, urban day care centers, inner-city churches, liquor stores, and so on. The city leadership at the time was so fearful of garden apartments that the wording of the zoning code specifically prohibited them on Prospect Ave. This isn't "Make a Deal". I'll take the history we had rather than what could have been behind "door number three". Sorry the houses had to go, but they had to go.
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Pictures of Prospect Avenue homes as promised. I'm not sure when these were taken.
Click the images to enlarge.
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Interesting set of photos. THe first one says that the house at 92 Prospect "didnt' sign the petition", and is immiediately south of an "apartment site". 100 Prospect is the Beechwood, which was built in the 1920's, I think that's not the apartments in question. 92 Prospect is now part of The Frontenac, NE corner of Prospect and Atlantic.
It's amazing how much information one can get by reading between the lines. People must have been petitioning against the Frontenac, which might have been the tallest building in Hackensack when it was built. Not only did Mrs. Demarest refuse to sign the petition, I can deduce that she then sold her property to the developer, who included her house in the Frontenac project. There's also a large building at 101 Prospect (SW corner of Beech and Prospect) that was built in the 1940's. The SE corner of Prospect and Atlantic are two 5-6 story apartment buildings that were originally built as hotels, probably around 1910-1920. And then converted into apartments. The building with the fancy brickwork right at the SE corner of Prospect and Atlantic has no parking, and the quality of life there has been totally destroyed by the medical center because street parking is non-existant due to the medical center. That building has really gone down. The front door is left unlocked and open, and the whole building is becoming "inner city". Ditto for NE corner of Prospect and Essex.
Not sure when the Frontenac was built, but my guess is the 1950's. I'm think the Frontenac pre-dates the much larger Executive House on Beech Street by just a few years, but could be wrong about that. The 1950's must be when these photos were taken. Missing from the photos are the really grand houses north of Cental Ave.
There were no multi-unit buildings on Prospect north of Beech Street at that time of these photos, except for the corner of Passaic Street where there was one old building, which is referred to as "the Ozzie and Harriott building" because the real-life actors of that popular 1950's TV series lived there. It had become quiet deteriorated by the 1990's. I remember looking for an apartment there in 1990, and was disgusted by the kitchen cabinets, evidence of roaches, the windows, and lack of parking. And that was for an apartment that was cleaned up for prospective tenants to see. The building was purchased rehabbed around 2000, along with the creation of a parking lot for residents to the rear. It is now called "Courtyard on Prospect". The 5-story next to Courtyard on Prospect was probably built around 1950 or 1950's.
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Unless the photos are older, and it was a petition against The Beechwood. How old are these photos ???
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Thanks to all who have responded; thank you for sharing so graciously. I have numerous strings of comments to add to the reconstruction of the history of the "end" of "Prospect as it was",and to help piece together events that led to its demise. However, I have but a few snatches of time here lately to add even my proper appreciation for the info and discussion, and much less time to add my info to the board. So here are just a few quick tidbits in response.
First, your point , JW, on Prospect's shift to high rises is well taken; I thoroughly understood the real-world politics of that situation and its economic impact on Hackensack's past and future. Please take kindly to my responses which I share only in a sense of history, not public policy. Remember, that address was my home, not a house, so I feel saddened for that reason and wish only to share the beauty and the elegance and pride those stately Hackensack estates brought to the city at the time, much as you feel pride in its newer urban elegance. I am actually quite pleased to hear how Prospect Hill still adds so significantly to the value of real property in the city.
Second, did anyone notice my earlier posted remark about the fire (1958?) which supposedly, it was long argued, then rendered it unsaleable. My suspicion is that the fire had significance in the advance of the fall of Prospect and the ultimate land assembly that must have necessarily preceded zoning attempts. I believe such actions occurred after the death of the three older siblings who were the occupants of the gray home to the left of ours through the 1950's. I mentioned the involvement of a lawyer (maybe Emil Wulster), though I am unsure if that name is correct. The family next door (on left) may have been named Peck, and had a relative who was also a lawyer somehow connected to the sale of what was probably 245-249 Prospect. Might anyone know if that property was ever family occupied again after the death of those owners?
Third, and last for now, I am surprised to see reference to Ozzie and Harriet (Nelson). In fact, when I lived on Prospect, they most definitely owned a house on Elm Street in Bogota, just a block or so from my grandparent's home on the uneven-numbered side of that street.Their home was close to the Teaneck borderline, so perhaps their address was actually Teaneck. Lots more to say about all this, but little time now. Would anyone know which of the Nelson's moved to Hackensack and when? I am not sure if any of you who are in discussion on this topic are old enough to have known or have heard that the Nelson's son, Ricky, was a "big" Rock and Roll singer who died in a plane crash at a very young age. I assume you probably know your local history very well, so perhaps my info is of no new value to the board
Editor ... the pictures are great. Do you know the approximate date they were taken and the years when the developers were beginning to make their circles? I think our section began its change in 1958 with the death of the people to our right side (nearer to Central). Regarding one of those homes in your displayed photos, the one with the strongly rounded arch on its porch, looks like the home of one of my teen-year friends, a thin young girl whose parents were shoe manufacturers. We spent many afternoons in her bedroom choosing from a myriad of expensive shoe samples that were somehow "leftovers"(dreamy!). My school friends were so envious of my friendship with her. She attended a very "tony" private school that was out of town, possibly NY. Might anyone know of them and still remember their names? Most of my closer relationships were down to the left of our home ( nearer to Golf Place) on Prospect Avenue, so I am trying to mentally assemble the fragments of my memories on the neighbors beyond Central Ave. The pictures are great!
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In thinking about all of this... in 1962...I remember a house owned by a Mr. Bill Nicoles (SP) that was just north of Central Ave on the west side and was a newer Ranch style house. Could this be the replacement structure for your house that burned in 1958.
My Grandfather & Mr. Nicoles were in the Home Owners Assoc and against the high rises.
Does this ring a bell with anyone ?
PS: We lived on West Anderson St.
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Unfortunately, the scrapbook containing the pictures does not have a date. Below are the remaining pictures in the scrap book which may provide clues. Judging by the cars, I'm guessing late 30's or early 40's.
Click images to enlarge.
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Wow...I am having trouble with directions...I think you are on it! Mr.Nicoles is a name I do remember,wow...So why would their home have been razed? Only ours at 253-257 had fire damage to a small part of the first floor. Their stately gray home was always well kept and orderly. Do you have a guess on the actual address of the Nicoles home? Were they somehow related to a lawyer,name either Peck or Wulster? Our property was the third huge home from the corner of Central on Prospect, the Summit side of the hill.Would that be North,then...I'm confused but hope you'll orient me on the directions so I can be more accurate on my posts...thank you so much for your reply;it means a lot to me to gather Hackensack history. BTW...the new photos are wonderful and helped me to fill in more gaps in memories of the other side of Prospect. Wish I had more time to give to this history gathering. To me it's heartwarming and a bit exhilarating to piece it together bit by bit.
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I believe that the gentleman you are referring to was Bill Niclas. Bill's wife was Mildred Niclas.
If my memory is correct Bill was a senior staff accountant with a major corporation, which may have been Mobil. During the 1970's Bill was a fixture at City Council meetings both as an officer in the Homeowners Association and representing himself. I am sure that if you search the City Council minutes from the 1970's and look under his name, you will find his name and address which he gave when he spoke.
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I am VERY weak at "search and find" on the Internet. Do you have any link or a suggestion how to locate city council minutes (site address)?
Was the name Niclas or Nicoles; my memory tells me that these our my neighbors. How long did they stay living on Prospect after the death( late 50's) of one of the three of them? I had thought I remembered them to be siblings, not so?
BigThanks for every assistance.
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Bill Niclas used 261 prospect Avenoe as his address.
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I apologize for the typo. PROSPECT AVENUE
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Sir, I am realizing and remembering, too, and since I know our home was odd numbered and our address was definitely 253-257,it has suddenly snapped into place that the Niclas family was indeed newcomer who purchased the property to the left of our home, (on right side if one were facing our home). Oh my goodness, I had forgotten the "stroke" that caused in the neighborhood when that modern structure was being built on Prospect. That is most definitely not the family in the stately,old gray house to the right of our property. The Niclases were certainly the newcomers. Do you happen to remember when they built there? The Niclases were a good bit younger than most other of our neighbors, if I rightly recall. Thank you for the extra piece; it was one I had completely forgotten. When a ranch-styled house was mentioned in earlier post,it did not compute. Now I know why!
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draft accidentally submitted incomplete and with errors...sorry
...it has suddenly snapped into place that the Niclases were indeed the newcomers who purchased the property on the left of our home..
ALSO ADDED...Do I remember correctly that the family had young children at the time? Do you or does anyone else know?
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Editor, Thanks for posting the rest of the photos from the collection. Photo's #9 and #10 specifically refer to the SE Corner of Prospect and Beech as the site of the apartment house. So that's the answer. The petition was opposition to the Beechwood. I was wrong when I guessed Frontenac. But it's interesting that the house which refused to sign the petition (92 Prospect), was later leveled to build the Frontenac.
The new photos have better examples of cars that appear to be 1920's. I'm not a car expert, but I don't think I saw anything circa 1940.
Does anyone have more info on when the Beechwood was built. It has such elaborate architecture that it must be pre-War (WWII). Post-war was more bland and "minimalist", like the red brick "box" at 101 Prospect which is directly across the street. That probably means the Beechwood dates to the 1920's, because not much was built in the 1930's due to the economic climate. The Beechwood was converted to condo's and substantially renovated around 1980 or 1982. I remember they removed the screens from the porches, and fixed some cement between each brick, and relandscaped it.
By the way, those are great photos of "Sheldon Arms". That's the building which sadly has suffered such tremendous socioeconomic decline due to lack of parking. Who wants to rent an apartment without a parking spot, and no street parking. Thanks HUMC, for trashing the Sheldon Arms. At least it hasn't brought down the rest of the neighborhood, the surrounding area is still good, and only a block north is very upscale. I think the super-luxury Excelsior buildings are 140 and 170 Prospect, with "The Restaurant" in between. You can rent a penthouse for only $6000 a month, I'm told.
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Also, I don't think the fire had anything to do with the rezoning of Prospect Ave. This is a very controversial subject, and it's been discussed elsewhere on this site. The official reason was to build Ratables, but back in the 1980's, long-term residents told me that it was done for "other reasons", and I was told exactly what those reasons were. Let's not discuss them in detail on this string.
All I can say is.....It's not a coincidence that Prospect Ave in Hackensack, Prospect Street in East Orange, and Mt. Prospect Ave in Newark were all "estate homes" that were rezoned for high-rises, and that these high-rise rows were all built on ridgetops at the edge of "less than stellar" neighborhoods, and those neighborhoods were located to their east and did not control the politics of the communities at that time. There's a pattern here, and that pattern is more than just the names of the streets and that high-rises were coming in.
People are smart, they can connect the dots.
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Just to respond to the email inquiry I received on my last post. I have no personal knowledge and I have heard no rumors of that house fire, why it happened, and how it affected neighboring property values or the zoning on the street. Surely it was a devastating loss to those who lived through it. Rumors are rumors, even when they are fresh. And nothing generates rumors more than fires. Now it's 2008, so the rumors surrounding the house fire are 50 years old.
I know that the zoning was changed in the early 1960's, several years after the 1958 fire. But that people wanted the zoning to be changed at least as far back as 1960.
I just think that the reason for the zone change was a much bigger issue, affecting the nature, character, and future of the entire city, and not focussed on any one house. The order of high-rises going up was not connected with that burned house, in fact the Camelot was the LAST high-rise to go up.
I will note that the FIRST highrise was almost directly across the street from the burned house. The WhiteHall, I believe is 280 Prospect, built 1965.
Here's the timetable for the others: Quail Heights (1979) is at 240 Prospect, and Quail Height II (1988 ?) is 260 Prospect. The Blair House (235 Prospect) I think was 1973, built at the same time as the 3 on Overlook Ave, all four went up simultaneously around 1972. The Barridge house (NW corner of Golf Place and Prospect) may have been right around the same time (early 1970's), and the Bristol House (same corner, but SW) probably 1974-1975. Nothing built on the entire street, or 1983-1987. Camelot (245 Prospect) built in 1981-1982, with two levels of underground parking. Sherbrooke and Pierre I think 1974-1975. Excelsior I in 1989, and Excelsior II around 2000. Excelsior II was also an ugly foundation for 10 years. Unsure about the highrise at Prospect & Berry, but definately in the 1970's. Quail Heights III (NW corner of Central and Third) in 1999. A 35-story was approved for NW corner of Prospect & Berry, and would have been by far the tallest in the city, but it went bankrupt and was never built. The foundation remained an eyesore for well over 10 years. Finally it became an office building, say around 1984. World Plaza I and II around late 1980's, Ritz Plaza completed about 1990. Prospect Tower built 1989, but sat finished and vacant for over 10 years. Then the interiors were completed by a new owner. 2 other identical towers approved for Third Street behind tower number 1, but never built. Instead, the long building behind Prospect Tower (310 Prospect) was built in 1999. I remember watching that one get built from the balcony of my condo.
I hope these dates helps. You'd need to map it out, with buildings and dates.
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The Historic Meeting Minutes are here: http://www.hackensack.org/content/70/2684/default.aspx
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the Sherbrooke was built in 1971. 307 Prospect was built in 1975-76. My uncle was one of the first people to move in there. the Bristol house was built in 68-69.
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thanks.
That was such a flurry of construction, especially early-mid 1970s, it's hard to keep track of it. And it's amazing that it never reached Summit Ave, either by Zoning or Variance. By 1975, people thought it was guaranteed to happen. And for a number of years, people weren't maintaining their houses, assuming the next owner would tear it down.
The Sznajderman's were active behind the scenes in trying to get multi-unit on Summit Ave. They were ferrociously opposed to the whole preservationist movement of the late 1980's that was active on Summit Ave and nearby. I think she even served on the city Planning Board under Mayor Fred Cerbo, who was the arch-enemy of the preservationists.
Around 1988, they even had an add running in the real estate section to sell their house and their neighbor's (NE corner Summit & Central) for high-rise development. I still have a copy of it. She lives right behind the Blair House. Suzanne Sznajderman was involved in every city election for the past 30 years, usually as Treasurer of some group of candidates. If she's still around, watch for her name again for the 2009 election, as Treasurer. Not too many people know what she wants, if her group gets in.
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Thanks for all the interesting information on this post.
I'd just like to clarify one point...it's minor, but...the Whitehall - at 280 Prospect was completed in 1961 not in 1965. My parents, sister, and I moved there in June 1961, when they were finishing the lobby and the area around the swimming pool. I loved living there and was very sad when my mother had to sell and move into an assisted living facility.
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Funny that this string has become active again. On Tues May 14th, the Citizens For Change group that Suzanne Sznajermann was an integral part of for so many elections finally won a city election. All 5 candidates won, and will be sworn in on July 1st. The group pledges to oppose redevelopment of Summit Ave, for the record.
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Sons pay homage to North Jersey dad on centennial of his birth
March 30, 2014 Last updated: Sunday, March 30, 2014, 1:21 AM
By JAY LEVIN
STAFF WRITER
Also gone is 157 Prospect Ave. in Hackensack, where Greg and Barry grew up and where their parents lived from 1950 to 1972. In its place is the Eiffel Tower, a high-rise co-op on an avenue lined with apartment buildings. Thriving in front of the Eiffel Tower is a Japanese maple, 30 feet tall. Greg and Barry happily remembered the tree gracing their front lawn, and Greg harked back to the massive piece of Sheetrock his father used to build him a bedroom in the attic.
For much of the time he resided at 157 Prospect Ave., Mr. Huber worked nearby in Maywood at Stepan Chemical Co. — formerly Maywood Chemical Works. "He was so dedicated to his work that he told me one time he actually hated when the weekend came around," Greg said.
-See more at: http://www.northjersey.com/news/sons-pay-homage-to-north-jersey-dad-on-centennial-of-his-birth-1.836441?page=all#sthash.rt1OCf9D.dpuf