Bergen Hill
Encyclopedia
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...
, USA, where they emerge on Bergen Neck
Bergen Neck
Bergen Neck is a name for the peninsula between the Upper New York Bay and the Newark Bay in the Hudson County, New Jersey municipalities of Bayonne and Jersey City...
, which in turn is the peninsula between the Hackensack
Hackensack River
The Hackensack River is a river, approximately 45 miles long, in the U.S. states of New York and New Jersey, emptying into Newark Bay, a back chamber of New York Harbor. The watershed of the river includes part of the suburban area outside New York City just west of the lower Hudson River,...
and Hudson River
Hudson River
The Hudson is a river that flows from north to south through eastern New York. The highest official source is at Lake Tear of the Clouds, on the slopes of Mount Marcy in the Adirondack Mountains. The river itself officially begins in Henderson Lake in Newcomb, New York...
, and their bays. In Hudson County, it reaches a height of 260 feet.
Rail
Defining features of Bergen Hill include the 19th century and early 20th century railroad right of ways. cutsCut (earthmoving)
In civil engineering, a cut or cutting is where soil or rock material from a hill or mountain is cut out to make way for a canal, road or railway line....
and tunnel
Tunnel
A tunnel is an underground passageway, completely enclosed except for openings for egress, commonly at each end.A tunnel may be for foot or vehicular road traffic, for rail traffic, or for a canal. Some tunnels are aqueducts to supply water for consumption or for hydroelectric stations or are sewers...
s created to provide access to the terminals and ferries on the North River (Hudson River) and 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...
, and eventually under the river. From south to north they are:
- The Central Railroad of New JerseyCentral Railroad of New JerseyThe 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...
lines traveled on the CRRNJ Newark Bay Bridge across Newark BayNewark BayNewark Bay is a tidal bay at the confluence of the Passaic and Hackensack Rivers in northeastern New Jersey. It is home to the Port Newark-Elizabeth Marine Terminal, the largest container shipping facility in Port of New York and New Jersey, 3rd largest and one of busiest in the United States...
and through BayonneBayonne, New JerseyBayonne is a city in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. Located in the Gateway Region, Bayonne is a peninsula that is situated between Newark Bay to the west, the Kill van Kull to the south, and New York Bay to the east...
and GreenvilleGreenville, Jersey CityGreenville 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...
to its Communipaw TerminalCommunipaw TerminalCentral Railroad of New Jersey Terminal, sometimes known as Communipaw Terminal was the Central Railroad of New Jersey's waterfront passenger terminal at the mouth of the Hudson River at the Upper New York Bay in Jersey City, New Jersey.-Designation:...
. Portions are used by the Hudson Bergen Light Rail. - The Jersey City, Newark and Western RailwayJersey City, Newark and Western RailwayThe Jersey City, Newark and Western Railway was incorporated on July 6, 1889 and acquired by the Lehigh Valley Railroad . Construction was completed in 1893...
(later the Lehigh Valley Terminal RailwayLehigh Valley Terminal RailwayThe Lehigh Valley Terminal Railway was a Lehigh Valley Railroad company organized in 1891 through the consolidation of the companies that formed the Lehigh Valley's route from South Plainfield through Newark to Jersey City via its bridge across Newark Bay...
) freight line on the bridgeLehigh Valley Railroad BridgeThe Lehigh Valley Railroad Bridge is a vertical lift bridge spanning the Newark Bay in northeastern New Jersey. It is used by CSX Transportation travelling through the North Jersey Shared Assets Area of the United States rail network along the National Docks Secondary line. The bridge is just north...
over Newark BayNewark BayNewark Bay is a tidal bay at the confluence of the Passaic and Hackensack Rivers in northeastern New Jersey. It is home to the Port Newark-Elizabeth Marine Terminal, the largest container shipping facility in Port of New York and New Jersey, 3rd largest and one of busiest in the United States...
and across Pamrapo is now used by CSX TransportationCSX TransportationCSX Transportation operates a Class I railroad in the United States known as the CSX Railroad. It is the main subsidiary of the CSX Corporation. The company is headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, and owns approximately 21,000 route miles...
as the National Docks SecondaryNational Docks SecondaryNational Docks Secondary is freight rail line within Conrail's North Jersey Shared Assets Area in Hudson County, New Jersey, used by CSX Transportation. It provides access to the national rail network to maritime, industrial, and distribution facilities at Port Jersey, the Military Ocean Terminal...
to Port JerseyPort JerseyPort Jersey is an intermodal freight transport facility that includes a container terminal located on the Upper New York Bay in the Port of New York and New Jersey. The municipal border of the Hudson County, New Jersey cities of Jersey City and Bayonne runs along the long pier extending into the bay...
and other points. - Newark and New York Railroad Branch of the Central Railroad of New JerseyCentral Railroad of New JerseyThe 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...
(1869), now the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail West Side BranchHudson-Bergen Light RailThe 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...
, ran from Downtown NewarkDowntown NewarkDowntown Newark is Newark, New Jersey's major central business, retail, and cultural district. It is located at a bend in the Passaic River.Downtown is the site of the original Puritan settlement of Newark. The first settlers, led by Robert Treat, landed not far from the present site of the New...
to Communipaw TerminalCommunipaw TerminalCentral Railroad of New Jersey Terminal, sometimes known as Communipaw Terminal was the Central Railroad of New Jersey's waterfront passenger terminal at the mouth of the Hudson River at the Upper New York Bay in Jersey City, New Jersey.-Designation:...
.
- The Bergen Hill Cut (1838)- opened by, New Jersey Rail Road and Transportation Company, eventually to Pennsylvania RailroadPennsylvania RailroadThe Pennsylvania Railroad was an American Class I railroad, founded in 1846. Commonly referred to as the "Pennsy", the PRR was headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania....
to PRR StationExchange PlaceExchange Place can be the name of:*Exchange Place , an office building complex*Exchange Place , a district/neighborhood**Exchange Place **Exchange Place **Exchange Place...
at Exchange PlaceExchange PlaceExchange Place can be the name of:*Exchange Place , an office building complex*Exchange Place , a district/neighborhood**Exchange Place **Exchange Place **Exchange Place...
or Harsimus BranchPassaic and Harsimus LineConrail's Passaic and Harsimus Line serves freight in northeastern New Jersey, as an alternate to the mainly passenger Northeast Corridor. It takes trains from the Northeast Corridor and Lehigh Line near Newark Liberty International Airport northeast and east into Jersey City, New Jersey, serving...
along the Harsimus Stem EmbankmentHarsimus Stem EmbankmentThe Harsimus Stem Embankment, also called Sixth Street Embankment, is a half-mile-long historic railroad embankment, now abandoned and largely overgrown with foliage, in the heart of Jersey City's historic downtown...
to Harsimus CoveHarsimusHarsimus is a neighborhood within Downtown Jersey City. The neighborhood stretches from the Harsimus Stem Embankment in the north to Christopher Columbus Drive in the south between Coles Street and Grove Street or more broadly, to Marin Boulevard...
. Now used by PATHPort Authority Trans-HudsonPATH, derived from Port Authority Trans-Hudson, is a rapid transit railroad linking Manhattan, New York City with Newark, Harrison, Hoboken and Jersey City in metropolitan northern New Jersey...
Journal SquareJournal SquareJournal 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...
and NewarkNewark, New JerseyNewark is the largest city in the American state of New Jersey, and the seat of Essex County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Newark had a population of 277,140, maintaining its status as the largest municipality in New Jersey. It is the 68th largest city in the U.S...
lines - The Erie Cut (1910), whose portals are known as the Bergen ArchesBergen ArchesBergen Arches is an abandoned railroad right of way through Bergen Hill in Jersey City, New Jersey.-History:...
-Erie RailroadErie RailroadThe Erie Railroad was a railroad that operated in New York State, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, originally connecting New York City with Lake Erie...
to Pavonia TerminalPavonia TerminalPavonia Terminal was the Erie Railroad terminal on the Hudson River situated on the landfilled Harsimus Cove in Jersey City, New Jersey.-History:The Erie began developing the waterfront site in 1856.The intermodal complex was built between 1886 and 1889...
, now unused - The Long Dock TunnelLong Dock TunnelThe Long Dock Tunnel is a tunnel in New Jersey that runs diagonally through Bergen Hill, a section of the New Jersey Palisades in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States...
(1860)- the first Erie Cut, now Norfolk Southern freight line - The Bergen Hill Tunnels (1876) & (1908) under Jersey City Heights, built by Morris and Essex RailroadMorris and Essex RailroadThe Morris and Essex Railroad was a railroad across northern New Jersey, later part of the main line of the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad.-History:...
and the Delaware, Lackawanna, and Western Railroad, Later, the Erie Lackawanna, and now, New Jersey TransitNew Jersey Transit rail operationsNew Jersey Transit Rail Operations is the rail division of New Jersey Transit. It provides regional rail service in New Jersey, with most service centered around transportation to and from New York City, Hoboken, and Newark...
rail lines to Hoboken TerminalHoboken TerminalHoboken 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...
. - 9th Street-Congress Street (HBLR station)9th Street-Congress Street (HBLR station)9th Street-Congress Street is a station on the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail operated by New Jersey Transit which opened on September 7, 2004...
provides elevator service between the platform in HobokenHoboken, New JerseyHoboken is a city in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population was 50,005. The city is part of the New York metropolitan area and contains Hoboken Terminal, a major transportation hub for the region...
and Paterson Plank RoadPaterson Plank RoadPaterson Plank Road is a road that runs through Passaic, Bergen and Hudson Counties in northeastern New Jersey originally lain in the colonial era. The route, connecting the city Paterson and the Hudson River waterfront, still exists...
in Jersey City Heights - THE Tunnel was a planned, but now canceled, new mass transit tunnel that would have connected Secaucus JunctionSecaucus JunctionThe Frank R. Lautenberg Secaucus Junction Station is a major commuter rail hub in Secaucus, New Jersey...
with an expanded Pennsylvania StationPennsylvania StationPennsylvania Station is a label first applied by the Pennsylvania Railroad to several of its grand passenger terminals.-New York City:... - The North River Tunnels (1910), part of the Northeast CorridorNortheast CorridorThe Northeast Corridor is a fully electrified railway line owned primarily by Amtrak serving the Northeast megalopolis of the United States from Boston in the north, via New York to Washington, D.C. in the south, with branches serving other cities...
and Northeast Corridor LineNortheast Corridor LineThe Northeast Corridor Line is a commuter rail operation run by New Jersey Transit along Amtrak's Northeast Corridor. It is the successor to commuter services provided by the Pennsylvania Railroad along the section between Trenton, New Jersey and New York Penn Station...
, their western entrance called the Bergen Portal - Liberty Place in Weehawken, New JerseyWeehawken, New JerseyWeehawken is a township in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population was 12,554.-Geography:Weehawken is part of the New York metropolitan area...
was cut and tunnel for the rail line connecting the waterfront elevator to the entrance of 19th century Eldorado Park, later used by the North Hudson RailwayNorth Hudson, New JerseyNorth Hudson is the collective name of the municipalities of Weehawken , Union City , West New York , Guttenberg and North Bergen in Hudson County, New Jersey...
streetcar lines. - Weehawken TunnelWeehawken TerminalWeehawken Terminal was the waterfront intermodal terminal on the North River in Weehawken, New Jersey for the New York Central Railroad's West Shore Railroad division. It opened in 1884 and closed in 1959. The complex contained five ferry slips, sixteen passenger train tracks, car float...
, (1861) West Shore RailroadWest Shore RailroadThe West Shore Railroad was the final name of a railroad from Weehawken, New Jersey, across the Hudson River from New York City, north along the west shore of the river to Albany, New York and then west to Buffalo...
, now Hudson Bergen Light Rail - Palisades Tunnel (1894) New York, Susquehanna and Western RailwayNew York, Susquehanna and Western RailwayThe New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway , also known as the Susie-Q, or simply the Susquehanna, is a Class II American freight railway operating over 500 miles of track in the northeastern states of New York, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. It was formed in 1881 from the merger of several...
cut and tunnel the western portal in Fairview and Hudson RiverHudson RiverThe Hudson is a river that flows from north to south through eastern New York. The highest official source is at Lake Tear of the Clouds, on the slopes of Mount Marcy in the Adirondack Mountains. The river itself officially begins in Henderson Lake in Newcomb, New York...
portal in ShadysideShadyside, EdgewaterShadyside is the southernmost neighborhood of Edgewater, New Jersey that overlaps the waterfront of neighboring North Bergen, New Jersey. It likely takes its name from the fact that its position on the west bank of the Hudson River is sometimes in the shadow of the Hudson Palisades...
, EdgewaterEdgewater, New JerseyEdgewater is a borough located along the Hudson River in Bergen County, New Jersey. As of the 2010 census, the borough had a population of 11,513...
.
Streetcars
The North Hudson County RailwayNorth Hudson County Railway
The North Hudson Railway Company built and operated a streetcar system in Hudson County and southeast Bergen County, New Jersey before and after the turn of twentieth century. It was founded by John Bonn, and eventually taken over by the Public Service Railway...
or its predecessor was responsible for many of the innovative engineering works which made streetcar
Tram
A tram is a passenger rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets and also sometimes on separate rights of way. It may also run between cities and/or towns , and/or partially grade separated even in the cities...
travel on the east face of Bergen Hill possible, including funicular
Funicular
A funicular, also known as an inclined plane or cliff railway, is a cable railway in which a cable attached to a pair of tram-like vehicles on rails moves them up and down a steep slope; the ascending and descending vehicles counterbalance each other.-Operation:The basic principle of funicular...
wagen lifts, an inclined elevated
Elevated railway
An elevated railway is a form of rapid transit railway with the tracks built above street level on some form of viaduct or other steel or concrete structure. The railway concerned may be constructed according to the standard gauge, narrow gauge, light rail, monorail or suspension railway system...
, a luxurious elevator
Elevator
An elevator is a type of vertical transport equipment that efficiently moves people or goods between floors of a building, vessel or other structures...
, Horseshoe curves, and viaducts.
Vehicular cuts
Other major excavations and structures for vehicular traffic have significantly altered Bergen Hill. Kennedy BoulevardCounty 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...
at 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...
and Journal Square Transportation Center both span the large ravine created there. The Divided Highway connecting the Pulaski Skyway
Pulaski Skyway
The General Pulaski Skyway is a four-lane freeway composed of connected bridges in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of New Jersey, carrying the designation of U.S. Route 1/9 for most of its length. The landmark structure has a total length of with the longest bridge spanning...
to the Holland Tunnel
Holland Tunnel
The Holland Tunnel is a highway tunnel under the Hudson River connecting the island of Manhattan in New York City with Jersey City, New Jersey at Interstate 78 on the mainland. Unusual for an American public works project, it is not named for a government official, politician, or local hero or...
runs parallel to the Long Dock Tunnel
Long Dock Tunnel
The Long Dock Tunnel is a tunnel in New Jersey that runs diagonally through Bergen Hill, a section of the New Jersey Palisades in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States...
. The Lincoln Tunnel Approach and Helix connects the Lincoln Tunnel
Lincoln Tunnel
The Lincoln Tunnel is a long tunnel under the Hudson River, connecting Weehawken, New Jersey and the borough of Manhattan in New York City.-History:...
, which itself enters the Palisades before submerging under the Hudson River
Hudson River
The Hudson is a river that flows from north to south through eastern New York. The highest official source is at Lake Tear of the Clouds, on the slopes of Mount Marcy in the Adirondack Mountains. The river itself officially begins in Henderson Lake in Newcomb, New York...
. Paterson Plank Road
Paterson Plank Road
Paterson Plank Road is a road that runs through Passaic, Bergen and Hudson Counties in northeastern New Jersey originally lain in the colonial era. The route, connecting the city Paterson and the Hudson River waterfront, still exists...
, the Wing Viaduct
14th Street (Hoboken)
Fourteenth Street in uptown Hoboken, New Jersey carries the Hudson County designation CR670. The eastern end is the Hudson River while its western portion is known simply as the 14th Street Viaduct. It is at the northern end of the city's urban grid, and one of the east–west streets that...
, Hackensack Plank Road
Hackensack Plank Road
The Hackensack Plank Road was a major artery which connected the cities of Hoboken and Hackensack, New Jersey Like its cousin routes, the Newark Plank Road and Paterson Plank Road, it travelled over Bergen Hill and across the Hackensack Meadows from the Hudson River waterfront to the city for...
, Pershing Road, Gorge Road are located on the face of the cliffs. Shippen Street
Shippen Street (Weehawken)
Shippen Street is an east-west street in Weehawken, New Jersey. The eastern terminal, a cobblestone double hairpin turn is listed on the New Jersey Register of Historic Places...
in Weehawken
Weehawken, New Jersey
Weehawken is a township in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population was 12,554.-Geography:Weehawken is part of the New York metropolitan area...
is small street that makes a double hairpin
Hairpin turn
A hairpin turn , named for its resemblance to a hairpin/bobby pin, is a bend in a road with a very acute inner angle, making it necessary for an oncoming vehicle to turn almost 180° to continue on the road. Such turns in ramps and trails may be called switchbacks in American English, by analogy...
turn.
Jersey City section
Bergen Hill, Jersey CityBergen Hill, Jersey City
Bergen Hill the name given to the emergence of the Hudson Palisades along the Bergen Neck peninsula in Hudson County, New Jersey and the inland neighborhood of the Jersey City where they rise from the coastal plain at the Upper New York Bay...
has sometimes been called colloquially "The Hill", and gives name to The Bergen Hill Historic District Other prominent landmarks on the east side of the hill are the former Jersey City Medical Center
Jersey 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...
(which since 2005 is being renovated and restored as an emerging neighborhood known as Beacon) and the Jersey City High School. Summit Avenue, which starts at The Junction in the Bergen-Lafayette Section
Bergen-Lafayette, Jersey City
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...
follows the route of a path used by Native Americans
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
from their settlement at 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 was used by New Netherlander
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...
s from that village on the bay to the one on the ridge at Bergen
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...
. It intersected Newark Plank Road
Newark Plank Road
The Newark Plank Road was a major 19th century artery between New Jersey's Hudson Waterfront and the burgeoning city of Newark, further inland across the New Jersey Meadows. As its name suggests, a plank road was constructed of wooden planks laid side-to-side on a roadbed. A charter to construct...
, an early colonial "turnpike" which ran from Paulus Hook over the hill, at Five Corners
Five Corners, Jersey City
Five Corners is at the intersection of Summit Avenue, Newark Avenue and Hoboken Avenue in Jersey City, New Jersey and is a northeastern part of the larger Journal Square district...
, and continued north through Bergen Woods
North Hudson, New Jersey
North Hudson is the collective name of the municipalities of Weehawken , Union City , West New York , Guttenberg and North Bergen in Hudson County, New Jersey...
where it connected with Paterson Plank Road
Paterson Plank Road
Paterson Plank Road is a road that runs through Passaic, Bergen and Hudson Counties in northeastern New Jersey originally lain in the colonial era. The route, connecting the city Paterson and the Hudson River waterfront, still exists...
and Hackensack Plank Road
Hackensack Plank Road
The Hackensack Plank Road was a major artery which connected the cities of Hoboken and Hackensack, New Jersey Like its cousin routes, the Newark Plank Road and Paterson Plank Road, it travelled over Bergen Hill and across the Hackensack Meadows from the Hudson River waterfront to the city for...
.
See also
- Newark Plank RoadNewark Plank RoadThe Newark Plank Road was a major 19th century artery between New Jersey's Hudson Waterfront and the burgeoning city of Newark, further inland across the New Jersey Meadows. As its name suggests, a plank road was constructed of wooden planks laid side-to-side on a roadbed. A charter to construct...
- Timeline of Jersey City area railroadsTimeline of Jersey City area railroadsFor the purposes of this article, the Jersey City area goes north to Edgewater , south to Bayonne, and includes Kearny Junction and Harrison but not Newark...
- List of stations on the Central Railroad of New Jersey
- List of crossings of the Hackensack River
- List of bridges, tunnels, and cuts in Hudson County, New Jersey