Photos: Meat me at the old Fairmount Hotel

[BLeafe]

We got some information a while back (thanks, Gene) about a big old commercial refrigerator at 824 Main St (first picture) and that it might be worth taking some pictures of it.

The site is where the old Fairmount Hotel was located, so there was the added interest in finding some remnant of the hotel.............maybe the fridge belonged to the hotel.

If you hunt around, you can find a pdf on this site that has all the old info from George Scudder, including mention of the hotel and some businesses that have been at that location over the years. Or you can just look at the second picture.

The image is a fairly recent one. Note that I tried to take the first picture at an angle similar to the second. From what you see and what you can read, it appears that there have been at least two food businesses in that space.

Currently, the space is being prepped for a new business that's slated to open next week (picture 3). Maybe Kim will pamper me in exchange for the plug.


Back to the fridge: I had envisioned some big clunky rusted metal box and was pleasantly surprised by what I found (pictures 4 and 5) - a great-looking meat locker.

Owner Scott Padovano wasn't quite sure what to do with it. It's too big to take home and too cool-looking to toss, so - for now at least- it stays.

Scott pointed out the manufacturer's name above the unit (picture 6) and on the inside of the door (picture 7). The C.V. Hill Co. is still in Trenton, so Scott contacted them. Apparently, their enthusiasm was less than stellar and they never got back to him.

On the plate in the center of picture 7 is what appears to be a 1934 date, so that rules out any Fairmount Hotel connection (the hotel existed in the last few decades of the 19th century).

Picture 8 shows the inside of the locker, picture 9 shows the mirror on the door, and picture 10 shows the door's open/close mechanism.

I asked Scott if he was aware of ANYTHING in the building that might date back to the hotel's time. He mentioned an old radiator upstairs that had a year on it, but it turned out to be 1919.

So, while it was disappointing to find no trace of the Fairmount Hotel, the meat locker was pretty cool (pun intended).

[Editor]

Great stuff.  Thanks Bob.

I wonder if there is any connection to "Costa's Market" on Hudson Street which closed recently.

[BLeafe]

I wonder if there is any connection to "Costa's Market" on Hudson Street which closed recently.

We actually discussed that, talking about Joe DiMaggio and stuff, but no one knew if there was a connection.

I'm sure someone who's reading this knows.

[BLeafe]

If you look at the first picture in the first post, you can see a blank white panel above the storefront windows where the name of the business goes, as illustrated by "American Sahara" in the next picture, which - BTW - is a 1980s image.

I got another email from Gene this week. He said that that panel was removed and some old glass was found underneath (first picture). The glass had been painted brown and the paint was peeling off.

He said that the whole storefront is going to be replaced and that glass will be tossed. I don't know that there's any great value in that glass and I doubt it's from the hotel, but I'm curious about how long it's been there. Perhaps the closeup (second picture) will give someone a clue.

I've been wondering if there's any photo or illustration of the Fairmount Hotel anywhere, but can find nothing online. Did it really even exist?

Guess what? I found one..............on my hallway wall!

Some of you are familiar with the 1896 map of Hackensack that's been sold in various sizes on eBay for ages. I've had a 24" x 30" copy on my wall for at least a decade.

Above and below the actual map are small illustrations of various structures that existed in Hackensack at the time - residences, churches, and businesses, including...............the Fairmount Hotel! (third picture)

Hard to see any commonalities, however, with the current building.

[just watching]

Readers should note that there were TWO Fairmount Hotels.  The first one being much much larger and grander.  It was located on palatial grounds covering over 4 square blocks, what is now the area bounded by Summit Ave, Spring Valley Ave, Fairmount Ave, and Coles Brook.  The property extended over Coles Brook into Maywood, where there were gardens.  And the brook was dammed at Spring Valley to make a large pond.  It was a 5-story Victorian hotel, reportedly burned to the ground in a great conflaguration in 20 minutes. 

The carriage house to the rear (what is now two new houses at the end of Fairmount Ave) didn't burn. The entire property fell to the City of Hackensack for nonpayment of taxes, and it served as the city's fire station

[BLeafe]

So I took a look to see if the 1896 Hackensack map was still available on eBay and found the 30" x 24" size at a good price (a smaller one is not good for details). The seller's in Fort Lee, so if you don't want to spend $6 for shipping, maybe you can pick it up.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Hackensack-NJ-c1896-repro-30x24-/150592106387?pt=Art_Posters&hash=item230ffd2f93

I've circled where the Fairmount Hotel is shown. The other structures are also quite interesting. This is almost like getting a mini-1896 Hackensack atlas for under 10 bucks.

[hankmc]

This is an 1876 map of the Hackensack area that shows the hotel location in the Fairmount section. It also shows the pond that was created by damming Coles Brook at the West end of the property.

 http://antiquegalleryprints.com/Map/US/11194/Midland+Township++New+Barbadoes+Township/Bergen+County+1876/New+Jersey/

This shows how many smaller streams in River Edge and Paramus drain into Coles Brook. If you follow the brook to the New Bridge area where it meets the Hackensack there is an indication of property owned by B.Cole on the New Milford side of the river.

If you look at the map in the Essex St. area it shows a small inlet that extends to about Main and Essex which must have been filled in.

[irons35]

point of correction. there was never a firehouse on Fairmount Ave.

Readers should note that there were TWO Fairmount Hotels.  The first one being much much larger and grander.  It was located on palatial grounds covering over 4 square blocks, what is now the area bounded by Summit Ave, Spring Valley Ave, Fairmount Ave, and Coles Brook.  The property extended over Coles Brook into Maywood, where there were gardens.  And the brook was dammed at Spring Valley to make a large pond.  It was a 5-story Victorian hotel, reportedly burned to the ground in a great conflaguration in 20 minutes. 

The carriage house to the rear (what is now two new houses at the end of Fairmount Ave) didn't burn. The entire property fell to the City of Hackensack for nonpayment of taxes, and it served as the city's fire station

[just watching]

I read somewhere in the history of the Hackensack fire dept that one of their earliest facilities (possibly the earliest) was a garage behind the Fairmount Hotel.

Can someone confirm this, and then confirm WHICH Fairmount Hotel

[Homer Jones]

Don't know for sure; but, take a look at Bob's Photo #3 in Reply #3 on 4/30  and the garage in the rear of the hotel on the viewer's right sure looks like it could hold fire apparatus.

[Editor]

Union Hose Co. # 4

Union Hose Co. 4 was organized on May 8, 1895 and was placed into service on June 1, 1895 with 12 members.  Its first apparatus was a four wheeled hose reel powered by the members.  This hose reel was purchased by the commission from the Liberty Hose Company, who purchased it Flushing, N.Y., where it was known as the "Village Belle". In 1910, it was doing auxiliary duty at Hackensack Hospital.  They were then given the Chemical and Hose Wagon first assigned to Alert Hose Co.2. and became Chemical 3. It was drawn by two horses. The Company was first quartered in a shed at the old Fairmount Hotel until the commission built a house at 787 Main St. in the Fairmount Section.  These quarters were located directly across from the present Engine 305.  In 1896 they had 13 members.  This structure burned to the ground in ??

Source: History of the Hackensack Fire Dept.

[irons35]

the original location of Union Hose was located on Voorhis Lane, behind the second Fairmount Hotel.  It is the only structure that housed a FD unit in Hackensack that I do not have a photo of.  Then to a wood frame structure where Deli Mart's parking lot is now, then to the current location in 1924, built by the same builder that built the houses on Martin Terrace.  the dept. went paid completely in 1914. 

[Editor]

Detail of hotel from 1896 map, indicating structures in the rear.