Jersey City in Vintage Postcards features selected postcard images, some actual photographs, that depict Jersey Cityas early-twentieth-century rise as one of the Northeastas great urban areas. Many of the views seen here remained intact into the 1940s and 1950s. More than two hundred thirty postcards and photographs, organized geographically, also suggest an evolving Jersey City, while well researched captions describe the changing cityscape.
Step back in time to learn how Jersey City has evolved since the seventeenth century. More than 350 color images provide a tour of Newark Avenue, the Junction, Greenville, and Journal Square. Enjoy the architectural landscape as you view such icons as City Hall, the Justice William J. Brennan, Jr. Courthouse, the former Jersey City Medical Center, and the century-old schoolhouse. This keepsake will be treasured by students and long-time residents, as it provides a comprehensive history and reflections of New Jersey's oldest city.
With over two hundred historical photographs, Railroads of Hoboken and Jersey City explores the cultural and commercial effects of railway travel in two important New Jersey cities. Because of their unique location directly across the Hudson River from Manhattan, Hoboken and Jersey City have long been centers of transportation activity. When the railway industry was booming in the early twentieth century, four major passenger terminals dotted the left bank of the Hudson from the Jersey Central to the Pennsylvania to the Erie to the Lackawanna. Thousands of people streamed through these terminals every day to the ferries that then took them across the river to New York City. Additionally, tons of freight were brought through the vast train yards along the waterfront. Railroads of Hoboken and Jersey City tells the history of the railroads between the mid-1800s and the 1970s. It also explores how the once vibrant waterfronts of Hoboken and Jersey City went through tremendous decline and how, over time, the waterfront has been restored and redeveloped. New residential and commercial buildings have sprouted along the old Pennsylvania and Erie properties, the Lackawanna Terminal has been restored, and the Central Railroad Terminal is now part of Liberty State Park, one of New Jersey's most popular tourist destinations.
From its primordial inception as a Dutch trading post on the left bank of the Hudson River to its late-19th-century reign as one of the world's great industrial centers and transportation termini, Jersey City has always been a city about people--the bold pioneers who reshaped its forested hills and elevated landscapes into a major municipality brimming with immigrant-filled neighborhoods, from which emerged even more distinct personalities. Legendary Locals of Jersey City highlights these timeless citizens, including Peter Stuyvesant, the director-general of New Netherland who rescued fledgeling settlements besieged by wars with the Lenni Lenape; Erminnie Smith, who launched an immensely popular intellectual society and salon in 1876; Hugh Roberts, the falsely accused over-spending architect of the majestic Hudson County Court House; Dr. Lena Edwards, winner of the 1964 Presidential Medal of Freedom; Helene Stapinski, national bestselling author; and Anthony Carrino and John Colaneri, stars of the hit HGTV series Kitchen Cousins and dedicated Jersey City developers.
The early decades of the twentieth century were among the most vibrant for both New York City and the world of postcards. The 1898 consolidation of the city's five boroughs sparked a building boom that inspired a heightened awareness of the city's changing landscape. In response to this new appreciation, the postcard industry began a colorful pictorial record that was especially rich for New York.
From the early 1900s through the 1950s, the postcard was an extraordinarily popular means of communication, and many of the postcards produced during this golden age can today be considered works of art. Postcard photographers traveled the length and breadth of the nation snapping photographs of busy street scenes, documenting local landmarks, and assembling crowds of local children only too happy to pose for a picture. These images, printed as postcards and sold in general stores across the country, survive as telling reminders of an important era in Americas history. This fascinating new history of Ocean City, New Jersey, showcases more than two hundred of the best vintage postcards available. Images in this collection date between 1879 and 1950.
