Nostalgia & History > Jersey City, 100+ years ago, I think

My awesome sister likes to check out yard sales. Mostly, she looks for things that the people she loves would love.

I live near the Jersey City waterfront, and a few years ago my sister found a framed photo that she knew I would love. There is a label on the glass that says "Exchange Place, Jersey City", and there is another label that says "circa 1910"

It has been on my wall for a few years, and tonight I got bored and took it out of the frame for scanning.

After taking it out of the frame and seeing what was behind the photo, I found out that it was part of a 2004 calendar. That must have been a heck of a calendar. I hope I'm not violating any rules by passing it on to you all.

I could make a zillion comments about this photo, but I won't. If you have any questions, I can try to answer them, but at the moment, I think that the photo says more than I can.

JS

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There is almost nothing I enjoy more than historic photos like these. Just use your imagination and try to see what it would like to be in that scene as those people!

Next best thing would to locate the location and take a photo today at the same angle to compare.

The transition from horse to machinery must have been an exciting era.

Thanks for posting. ( you didn't violate any rules sharing information !!) :)
Larry

Posted from iPhone

Larry,

I believe the building on the right edge of the photo is still there but has been dealing with structural issues.

I don't think anything else in that photo still exists. Maybe some cobblestones and rails.

Pretty amazing that everybody in the photo except the horses is wearing a hat.

I guess we've become a little less formal.

JS

Wild photo!

I heard a nearby though unimpressive former PRR "shack" /station in
Levittown, PA was going to be torn down to make way for a new and
modern station and took pictures all the way around and inside.

Wish I could find such perspectives on a station like "Exchange
Place"! Pete Lerro did a night shoot at the Pennsylvania Railroad
Museum and the K4 (1350) just happened to be parked next to a DD1.

Made for an interesting "Manhattan Transfer" setting. One I didn't
realize until after I shot it. "Exchange Place" would've been the
next stop for those who took the steam train to Jersey City vs the
electric motor into Manhattan.

/Mitch

melloj Wrote:
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> Pretty amazing that everybody in the photo except
> the horses is wearing a hat.

There is another difference that impressed me. That was pretty obviously the pre-air-conditioning era.

Here is what it looks like now. The building on the right
now houses a Starbucks on the ground floor. Notice the same
decorative stone work by the second floor window. It is at
the foot of Montgomery Street.

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Exchange+Place,+Jersey+City,+NJ+07302/@40.716443,-74.033061,3a,41.6y,67.92h,99.47t/data=!3m5!1e1!3m3!1ssPxla9lO8s4AAAAAAAAH4g!2e0!3e11!4m2!3m1!1s0x89c250a909983265:0x38e78cc6a541b6b7


BaltoJoey

Interestingly, ferry service to lower Manhattan leaves from about two blocks south of there today. The PATH's Exchange Place station is behind to the left. The light rail line, running from Hoboken to Bayonne, is have a block behind this view. All of this new activity (except for PATH) is within the last 10 or so years. 20 years ago there was a bank in that building and not much else around. Pavonia (now Newport) is even a bigger change. 20 years ago the PATH station brought you out into a field where the Erie's terminal once stood - you were really alone in an abandoned wasteland back then.

Tim

Thanks for the cool comments and that 360 degree photo from Google.

I made a comment earlier about a building having structural issues, but I believe that is the building next to it.

I haven't been there in a while. I hadn't noticed the Starbucks. I need to walk down there and sip coffee on a bench while watching the ferries.

When I first moved to the area, that spot still had original cobblestones and some rails, but the Pennsylvania terminal was long gone.

It is amazing how many major railroads were in the Jersey City area at one time, resulting in "frog wars", tunnels and overpasses, and some interesting business moves. They also took up large amounts of land, and when the railroads went away, a huge amount of land became available for development. The Jersey City waterfront is largely new and modern, because it was given a "restart", similar to sections of old cities that are modern because a gigantic fire or earthquake caused a "restart". If you have not been here since the 60's, you would be shocked. I've been here since the 80's, and it seems as though each decade has brought a new wave of development.

And, it is a cool place for people who love railroad history. The Light Rail line is a good way to see a nice bit of it, and you can imagine that you are riding the Lehigh and crossing under and over CNJ and PRR, etc...

JS