Bergen-Lafayette, Jersey City
Encyclopedia
Bergen-Lafayette is a section of Jersey City
, New Jersey
.
As its name implies, Bergen-Lafayette is made of different neighborhoods. It lies west-southwest of Downtown
and Liberty State Park
. Its less-defined other borders overlap those of Greenville
at Hudson-Bergen Light Rail
to the south, Lincoln Park/West Bergen to the west, and Montgomery Street at McGinley Square
to the north.
The name Bergen, used throughout Hudson County, is taken from the original Bergen
, New Netherland
settlement at Bergen Square
. The district can correspond to the former Bergen City
, which existed from 1855 to 1870 and was originally incorporated as a town
by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature
on March 24, 1855, from portions of Bergen Township
. In 1862, it did a reverse takeover, absorbing the remaining portions Bergen Township. On April 14, 1863, portions of the town were taken to form Greenville Township
. Bergen was reincorporated as a city on March 11, 1868. On May 2, 1870, both Bergen City and Hudson City
elected to merge with Jersey City
.
along the ridge of the diminishing Hudson Palisades A variety of architectural styles can be found along the them and their sidestreets including 19th-century rowhouses, Victorian
mansions, and pre-war
and Art Deco
apartment buildings, and the Renaissance Revival former Jersey City YMCA
. Monticello Avenue is a shopping district lined with many turn-of-the-century buildings with storefronts being brought back into use. The Fairmount Apartments and Temple Beth-El
are a prominent landmark on Kennedy Boulevard
.
A statue of a seated Abraham Lincoln
by James Earle Fraser is situated at its Kennedy Boulevard
entrance.
As its name suggests West Bergen overlaps this neighborhood. The city is now defining this area with maps and other promotions to encourage use of the name McGinley Square
for this neighborhood
is being renovated and restored as The Beacon, and will include approximately 1,200 new residences. The 14 acres (56,656 m²) site is located at the northwest corner of the district atop Bergen Hill
west of McGinley Square
.
, or simply, The Junction, is where Communipaw, Summit Avenue
and Garfield Avenue, and Grand Street
meet. The Bergen Hill Historic District
is centered around Summit Avenue as it ascends from the Junction. Bergen Hill
, or The Hill , refers to the emergence of the New Jersey Palisades
. The district is not on National Register of Historic Places, but has a state designation. a prominent landmark being St John's Church. Lincoln High School
is on Crescent Avenue. Ficken's Warehouse
is on Grand Street, which as it ascends from the Junction to the St. Patrick's Parish and Buildings at Bramhall Ave. (40°42′50"N 74°4′23"W). While not in the city historic district, this complex received its federal historic status in September 1980 and anchors the surrounding streets, some of which are lined with well-preserved or restored 18th-century row houses. MLK Drive has long been a commercial street for the southern part of the district. The neighborhood sometimes called Claremont lies south of Arlington Park, where before discontinuation of service the Central Railroad of New Jersey
maintained station.
. It is likely named for the Marquis de Lafayette, who was stationed in Bergen in 1799, and later re-visited in 1824 A city square similar to Van Vorst Park
and Hamilton Park
the buildings surrounding it were constructed in different periods. Before land-filling in the early twentieth century this area was located on the Upper New York Bay
. The Hackensack Indian
village of Communipaw
and the 16th century New Netherland
plantation of Jan Everts Bout
, site of the Pavonia
Massacre
, were located here. Whitlock Cordage is an intact complex of industrial buildings built in the Lafayette section along the banks of the Morris Canal
. The Housing Trust of America purchased the property to preserve the structures as affordable housing. Parts of the neighborhood are part of the Communipaw-Lafayette Historic District.
, Garfield Avenue
, and Martin Luther King
stations of the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail
are on the periphery of the section. New Jersey Transit bus routes 6, 43, 81, 87 to Journal Square
, Exchange Place, and Hoboken Terminal
serve the area locally, as the does the independent Bergen Avenue bus. NJ #981
provides rush hour service to Grove Street (PATH station)
along Pacific Avenue.
Jersey City, New Jersey
Jersey City is the seat of Hudson County, New Jersey, United States.Part of the New York metropolitan area, Jersey City lies between the Hudson River and Upper New York Bay across from Lower Manhattan and the Hackensack River and Newark Bay...
, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
.
As its name implies, Bergen-Lafayette is made of different neighborhoods. It lies west-southwest of Downtown
Downtown Jersey City
Downtown is an area of Jersey City, New Jersey that includes the Historic Downtown and the Waterfront. Historic Downtown can be further broken down into the neighborhoods of Harsimus Cove, The Village, Van Vorst Park, Grove Street, Hamilton Park and Boyle Plaza...
and Liberty State Park
Liberty State Park
Liberty State Park is located on Upper New York Bay in Jersey City, New Jersey, opposite the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. The park opened in 1976 to coincide with bicentennial celebrations and is operated and maintained by the New Jersey Division of Parks and Forestry.-Geography and...
. Its less-defined other borders overlap those of Greenville
Greenville, Jersey City
Greenville is the southernmost section of Jersey City, New Jersey.In its broadest definition Greenville encompasses the area south of the West Side Branch of Hudson-Bergen Light Rail and north of the city line with Bayonne, between the Upper New York Bay and the Newark Bay, and corresponds to the...
at Hudson-Bergen Light Rail
Hudson-Bergen Light Rail
The Hudson–Bergen Light Rail is a light rail system in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. Owned by New Jersey Transit and operated by the 21st Century Rail Corporation, it connects the communities of Bayonne, Jersey City, Hoboken, Weehawken, Union City , and North Bergen.The system began...
to the south, Lincoln Park/West Bergen to the west, and Montgomery Street at McGinley Square
McGinley Square
McGinley Square is in Jersey City, New Jersey, located near the middle of the city, south of Journal Square. The square itself is at the intersection of two of the city's major thoroughfares, Montgomery Street , and Bergen Avenue .The area was named after Monsignor Roger...
to the north.
The name Bergen, used throughout Hudson County, is taken from the original Bergen
Bergen, New Netherland
Bergen was a part of the 17th century province of New Netherland, in the area in northeastern New Jersey along the Hudson and Hackensack Rivers that would become contemporary Hudson and Bergen Counties...
, New Netherland
New Netherland
New Netherland, or Nieuw-Nederland in Dutch, was the 17th-century colonial province of the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands on the East Coast of North America. The claimed territories were the lands from the Delmarva Peninsula to extreme southwestern Cape Cod...
settlement at Bergen Square
Bergen Square
Bergen Square, at the intersection of Bergen Avenue and Academy Street in Jersey City, is in the southwestern part of the much larger Journal Square district...
. The district can correspond to the former Bergen City
Bergen City, New Jersey
Bergen was a city that existed in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States, from 1855 to 1870.-History:Bergen was originally incorporated as a town by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 24, 1855, from portions of Bergen Township. In 1862, it did a reverse takeover, absorbing the...
, which existed from 1855 to 1870 and was originally incorporated as a town
Town (New Jersey)
A Town in the context of New Jersey local government refers to one of five types and one of eleven forms of municipal government...
by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature
New Jersey Legislature
The New Jersey Legislature is the legislative branch of the government of the U.S. state of New Jersey. In its current form, as defined by the New Jersey Constitution of 1947, the Legislature consists of two houses: the General Assembly and the Senate...
on March 24, 1855, from portions of Bergen Township
Bergen Township, Bergen County, New Jersey (Historical 1693)
Bergen Township was a township that existed in the U.S. state of New Jersey, from 1661 to 1862, first as part of New Netherland, then as part Bergen County, and later as part of Hudson County...
. In 1862, it did a reverse takeover, absorbing the remaining portions Bergen Township. On April 14, 1863, portions of the town were taken to form Greenville Township
Greenville, Jersey City
Greenville is the southernmost section of Jersey City, New Jersey.In its broadest definition Greenville encompasses the area south of the West Side Branch of Hudson-Bergen Light Rail and north of the city line with Bayonne, between the Upper New York Bay and the Newark Bay, and corresponds to the...
. Bergen was reincorporated as a city on March 11, 1868. On May 2, 1870, both Bergen City and Hudson City
Hudson City, New Jersey
Hudson was a city that existed in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States, from 1855 to 1870 when it became part of Jersey City.Hudson Town, a predecessor of Hudson City, was formed by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on April 12, 1852, from portions of North Bergen Township.Hudson City itself...
elected to merge with Jersey City
Jersey City, New Jersey
Jersey City is the seat of Hudson County, New Jersey, United States.Part of the New York metropolitan area, Jersey City lies between the Hudson River and Upper New York Bay across from Lower Manhattan and the Hackensack River and Newark Bay...
.
Bergen
Kennedy Boulevard and Bergen Avenue is a major north-south thoroughfares in the city running south from Journal SquareJournal Square
Journal Square is a business district, residential area, and transportation hub in Jersey City, New Jersey, which takes its name from the newspaper Jersey Journal whose headquarters are located there. The "square" itself is at the intersection of Kennedy Boulevard and Bergen Avenues...
along the ridge of the diminishing Hudson Palisades A variety of architectural styles can be found along the them and their sidestreets including 19th-century rowhouses, Victorian
Victorian America
The Victorian Era is a name for the period from 1837 to 1901, the length of the rule of Britain's Queen Victoria. American Victorianism was an offshoot of this period and lifestyle that occurred in the United States, chiefly in heavily populated regions such as New England and the Deep South...
mansions, and pre-war
Pre-war
The term pre-war or prewar is usually applied to the most recent or significant war in a culture's history.Antebellum is most often used to denote the period before the American Civil War while pre-war typically refers to the period before WWII.In real estate the term refers to buildings from the...
and Art Deco
Art Deco
Art deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...
apartment buildings, and the Renaissance Revival former Jersey City YMCA
Jersey City YMCA
The Jersey City YMCA, is located in Bergen Section of Jersey City, New Jersey. The YMCA building was added to the National Register of Historic Places on November 12, 1999. The building is an example of an early twentieth century Renaissance Revival style...
. Monticello Avenue is a shopping district lined with many turn-of-the-century buildings with storefronts being brought back into use. The Fairmount Apartments and Temple Beth-El
Temple Beth-El (Jersey City, New Jersey)
Temple Beth-El is a Reform synagogue in Jersey City, New Jersey. located on Kennedy Boulevard in the Bergen Section.-History:At end of the Civil War , a group of Jews in Jersey City began to meet in study and prayer in downtown at 96 Montgomery Street, or nearby on York St...
are a prominent landmark on Kennedy Boulevard
County Route 501 (New Jersey)
County Route 501 is a county highway in New Jersey in two sections spanning Middlesex, Hudson and Bergen Counties. The southern section runs from South Plainfield to Perth Amboy, the northern section runs from Bayonne to Rockleigh, and the two sections are connected by New York State Route 440...
.
A statue of a seated Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
by James Earle Fraser is situated at its Kennedy Boulevard
County Route 501 (New Jersey)
County Route 501 is a county highway in New Jersey in two sections spanning Middlesex, Hudson and Bergen Counties. The southern section runs from South Plainfield to Perth Amboy, the northern section runs from Bayonne to Rockleigh, and the two sections are connected by New York State Route 440...
entrance.
As its name suggests West Bergen overlaps this neighborhood. The city is now defining this area with maps and other promotions to encourage use of the name McGinley Square
McGinley Square
McGinley Square is in Jersey City, New Jersey, located near the middle of the city, south of Journal Square. The square itself is at the intersection of two of the city's major thoroughfares, Montgomery Street , and Bergen Avenue .The area was named after Monsignor Roger...
for this neighborhood
Beacon
Since 2005 the former Jersey City Medical CenterJersey City Medical Center
The Jersey City Medical Center is a hospital in Jersey City, New Jersey. The hospital has had different facilities in the city.-History:The hospital began as the "Charity Hospital" but the Board of Aldermen of Jersey City bought land at Baldwin Avenue and Montgomery Street in 1882 for a new hospital...
is being renovated and restored as The Beacon, and will include approximately 1,200 new residences. The 14 acres (56,656 m²) site is located at the northwest corner of the district atop Bergen Hill
Bergen Hill
Bergen Hill refers to the lower Hudson Palisades in New Jersey, USA, where they emerge on Bergen Neck, which in turn is the peninsula between the Hackensack and Hudson River, and their bays. In Hudson County, it reaches a height of 260 feet.-Rail:...
west of McGinley Square
McGinley Square
McGinley Square is in Jersey City, New Jersey, located near the middle of the city, south of Journal Square. The square itself is at the intersection of two of the city's major thoroughfares, Montgomery Street , and Bergen Avenue .The area was named after Monsignor Roger...
.
The Junction, Bergen Hill, and Claremont
Communipaw JunctionCommunipaw
Communipaw is a section of Jersey City, New Jersey west of Liberty State Park and east of Bergen Hill, and site of one the earliest European settlements in North America. It gives its name to the historic avenue which runs from its eastern end near LSP Station through the neighborhoods of...
, or simply, The Junction, is where Communipaw, Summit Avenue
Summit Avenue (Hudson County)
County Route 617 is long and follows one street, Summit Avenue along the ridge of the Hudson Palisades in Hudson County, New Jersey. Its southern end is CR 622, or Grand Street, at Communipaw Junction in the Bergen-Lafayette Section of Jersey City...
and Garfield Avenue, and Grand Street
Bergen Point Plank Road
The Jersey City and Bergen Point Plank Road was a road in the 19th century in Hudson County, New Jersey which ran between Paulus Hook and Bergen Point. The company which built the road received its charter on March 6, 1850. It has subsequently become Grand Street and Garfield Avenue in Jersey City...
meet. The Bergen Hill Historic District
Bergen Hill
Bergen Hill refers to the lower Hudson Palisades in New Jersey, USA, where they emerge on Bergen Neck, which in turn is the peninsula between the Hackensack and Hudson River, and their bays. In Hudson County, it reaches a height of 260 feet.-Rail:...
is centered around Summit Avenue as it ascends from the Junction. Bergen Hill
Bergen Hill
Bergen Hill refers to the lower Hudson Palisades in New Jersey, USA, where they emerge on Bergen Neck, which in turn is the peninsula between the Hackensack and Hudson River, and their bays. In Hudson County, it reaches a height of 260 feet.-Rail:...
, or The Hill , refers to the emergence of the New Jersey Palisades
New Jersey Palisades
The Palisades, also called the New Jersey Palisades or the Hudson Palisades are a line of steep cliffs along the west side of the lower Hudson River in northeastern New Jersey and southern New York in the United States. The cliffs stretch north from Jersey City approximately 20 mi to near...
. The district is not on National Register of Historic Places, but has a state designation. a prominent landmark being St John's Church. Lincoln High School
Lincoln High School (Jersey City, New Jersey)
Lincoln High School is a four-year public high school located in Jersey City, in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States, operated as part of the Jersey City Public Schools, serving students in ninth through twelfth grade....
is on Crescent Avenue. Ficken's Warehouse
Ficken's Warehouse
Ficken's Warehouse, is located in Jersey City, New Jersey. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places on June 14, 1984. The building was built in 1910 by John H. Fickens and used as a stable and warehouse. The building was later used as the Bergen Station Post Office for...
is on Grand Street, which as it ascends from the Junction to the St. Patrick's Parish and Buildings at Bramhall Ave. (40°42′50"N 74°4′23"W). While not in the city historic district, this complex received its federal historic status in September 1980 and anchors the surrounding streets, some of which are lined with well-preserved or restored 18th-century row houses. MLK Drive has long been a commercial street for the southern part of the district. The neighborhood sometimes called Claremont lies south of Arlington Park, where before discontinuation of service the Central Railroad of New Jersey
Central Railroad of New Jersey
The Central Railroad of New Jersey , commonly known as the Jersey Central Lines or CNJ, was a Class I railroad with origins in the 1830s, lasting until 1976 when it was absorbed into Conrail with the other bankrupt railroads of the Northeastern United States...
maintained station.
Communipaw-Lafayette
Lafayette Park gives its name to the lower, or eastern, portion of the district closet to Downtown Jersey CityDowntown Jersey City
Downtown is an area of Jersey City, New Jersey that includes the Historic Downtown and the Waterfront. Historic Downtown can be further broken down into the neighborhoods of Harsimus Cove, The Village, Van Vorst Park, Grove Street, Hamilton Park and Boyle Plaza...
. It is likely named for the Marquis de Lafayette, who was stationed in Bergen in 1799, and later re-visited in 1824 A city square similar to Van Vorst Park
Van Vorst Park
Van Vorst Park is neighborhood in Historic Downtown in Jersey City, centered around a park sharing the same name. The neighborhood is located west of Paulus Hook and Marin Boulevard, north of Grand Street, east of the Turnpike Extension, and south of The Village and Christopher Columbus Drive...
and Hamilton Park
Hamilton Park, Jersey City
Hamilton Park is a neighborhood in Historic Downtown in Jersey City, centered around a park with the same name. Hamilton Park is located west of Newport, north of Harsimus Cove, north and east of The Village and south of Boyle Plaza. The Victorian age park is located between Eighth Street and...
the buildings surrounding it were constructed in different periods. Before land-filling in the early twentieth century this area was located on the Upper New York Bay
Upper New York Bay
Upper New York Bay, or Upper Bay, is the traditional heart of the Port of New York and New Jersey, and often called New York Harbor. It is enclosed by the New York City boroughs of Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Staten Island and the Hudson County, New Jersey municipalities of Jersey City and Bayonne.It...
. The Hackensack Indian
Hackensack (Native Americans)
Hackensack was the exonym given to a band of Lenape, a Native American people is a European derivation of the Lenape word for what is now the region of northeastern New Jersey along the Hudson and Hackensack Rivers.-Territory and Society:...
village of Communipaw
Communipaw
Communipaw is a section of Jersey City, New Jersey west of Liberty State Park and east of Bergen Hill, and site of one the earliest European settlements in North America. It gives its name to the historic avenue which runs from its eastern end near LSP Station through the neighborhoods of...
and the 16th century New Netherland
New Netherland
New Netherland, or Nieuw-Nederland in Dutch, was the 17th-century colonial province of the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands on the East Coast of North America. The claimed territories were the lands from the Delmarva Peninsula to extreme southwestern Cape Cod...
plantation of Jan Everts Bout
Jan Everts Bout
Jan Evertsz Bout , was an early and prominent Dutch settler in the 17th century colonial province of New Netherland....
, site of the Pavonia
Pavonia, New Netherland
Pavonia was the first European settlement on the west bank of the North River that was part of the 17th century province of New Netherland in what would become today's Hudson County, New Jersey.-Hudson and the Hackensack:...
Massacre
Kieft's War
Kieft's War, also known as the Wappinger War, was a conflict between settlers of the nascent colony of New Netherland and the native Lenape population in what would later become the New York metropolitan area of the United States...
, were located here. Whitlock Cordage is an intact complex of industrial buildings built in the Lafayette section along the banks of the Morris Canal
Morris Canal
The Morris Canal was an anthracite-carrying canal that incorporated a series of water-driven inclined planes in its course across northern New Jersey in the United States. It was in use for about a century — from the late 1820s to the 1920s....
. The Housing Trust of America purchased the property to preserve the structures as affordable housing. Parts of the neighborhood are part of the Communipaw-Lafayette Historic District.
Transportation
The Liberty State ParkLiberty State Park (HBLR station)
Liberty State Park is a station on the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail located between Communipaw and Johnston Avenues in Jersey City, New Jersey. The station opened on April 15, 2000....
, Garfield Avenue
Garfield Avenue (HBLR station)
Garfield Avenue is a station on the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail located at Union Street CR 610 in the Claremont Section of Jersey City, New Jersey. The station opened on April 22, 2000. It is at the eastern end of railroad original cut originally excavated in Bergen Hill in 1869 for the Central...
, and Martin Luther King
Martin Luther King Drive (HBLR station)
Martin Luther King Drive is a street named for Martin Luther King, Jr. in Jersey City, New Jersey with the designation Hudson County Route 609 and the name of the Hudson Bergen Light Rail Station on it...
stations of the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail
Hudson-Bergen Light Rail
The Hudson–Bergen Light Rail is a light rail system in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. Owned by New Jersey Transit and operated by the 21st Century Rail Corporation, it connects the communities of Bayonne, Jersey City, Hoboken, Weehawken, Union City , and North Bergen.The system began...
are on the periphery of the section. New Jersey Transit bus routes 6, 43, 81, 87 to Journal Square
Journal Square
Journal Square is a business district, residential area, and transportation hub in Jersey City, New Jersey, which takes its name from the newspaper Jersey Journal whose headquarters are located there. The "square" itself is at the intersection of Kennedy Boulevard and Bergen Avenues...
, Exchange Place, and Hoboken Terminal
Hoboken Terminal
Hoboken Terminal is one of the New York Metropolitan area's major transportation hubs. The commuter-oriented intermodal facility, is located on the Hudson River in Hoboken, New Jersey...
serve the area locally, as the does the independent Bergen Avenue bus. NJ #981
WHEELS (New Jersey Transit)
Wheels Suburban Transportation Services is a system of routes owned by New Jersey Transit and operated mostly under contract by private companies primarily in western New Jersey in Hunterdon and western Somerset counties, although some routes operate in urban areas...
provides rush hour service to Grove Street (PATH station)
Grove Street (PATH station)
Grove Street is a PATH station at the junction of Grove Street, Newark Avenue and Railroad Avenue in Jersey City, New Jersey. Opened on September 6, 1910 as Grove-Henderson Streets station, it is situated in the heart of Jersey City's historic downtown district...
along Pacific Avenue.
See also
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Hudson County, New Jersey
- List of neighborhoods in Jersey City, New Jersey
- Red & Tan in Hudson County
- Lafayette Branch