Downtown Jersey City
Encyclopedia
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...
that includes the Historic Downtown and the Waterfront. Historic Downtown can be further broken down into the neighborhoods of Harsimus Cove, The Village
The Village, Jersey City
The Village is a neighborhood in the western section of Historic Downtown in Jersey City. It is bordered by Hamilton Park and Harsimus Cove to the east and the Turnpike Extension to the west, on the other side of which Jones Park and Mary Benson Park are located. Newark Avenue is the major street...
, 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...
, Grove Street, 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...
and Boyle Plaza. The Waterfront includes the Powerhouse Arts District
Powerhouse Arts District, Jersey City
The Powerhouse Arts District is a historic warehouse district in Downtown Jersey City, New Jersey, United States, which takes its name from the unused generating station Hudson and Manhattan Railroad Powerhouse currently undergoing an extensive stabilization effort...
/WALDO Pavonia/Newport
Newport, Jersey City
Newport is a master-planned mixed use community in Jersey City, New Jersey, consisting of retail, residential, office, and entertainment facilities. Located on Jersey City's Hudson River waterfront, the new development is located opposite the World Financial Center in lower Manhattan. ...
neighborhood, the Harborside Financial Center
Harborside Financial Center
The Harborside Financial Center is an office complex in the Exchange Place district of Jersey City, New Jersey located on the Hudson Waterfront. It contains the Harborside Plazas 2 and 3, Harborside Plaza 1, Harborside Plaza 4A, Harborside Plaza 10, and the Harborside Plaza 5...
and Paulus Hook
Paulus Hook, Jersey City
Paulus Hook is a community on the Hudson River waterfront in Jersey City, New Jersey, located one mile across the river from Manhattan. The name Hook comes from the Dutch word "hoeck" which translates into "point of land." This "point of land" has been described as an elevated area, the location...
(including Exchange Place
Exchange Place
Exchange Place can be the name of:*Exchange Place , an office building complex*Exchange Place , a district/neighborhood**Exchange Place **Exchange Place **Exchange Place...
). Historic Downtown is the area west of Marin Boulevard, while the Waterfront lies to the east.
Historic Downtown is an area of mostly low-rise buildings to the west of the waterfront. It includes the neighborhoods of Van Vorst and Hamilton Parks, which are both square parks surrounded by brownstones. The Grove Street neighborhood has also seen a lot of development and the neighborhood is rich with stores and restaurants that cater to the diverse backgrounds of Jersey City's inhabitants. The Grove Street
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...
PATH
Port Authority Trans-Hudson
PATH, 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...
station is in the process of being rebuilt and a number of new housing is being built around the stop. Historic Downtown is home to many cultural attractions including the Jersey City Museum, the Hudson and Manhattan Railroad Powerhouse (planned to become a museum and artist housing) and the Harsimus Stem Embankment
Harsimus Stem Embankment
The 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...
along Sixth Street, which a citizens' movement is working to turn into public parkland.
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....
and there is still a segment of this basin surrounded by 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...
. The giant Colgate Clock
Colgate Clock
The Colgate Clock is an octagonal clock facing the Hudson River near Exchange Place in Jersey City, New Jersey, United States, with a diameter of . It is currently situated 400 meters south of the former site of the headquarters of consumer products conglomerate Colgate-Palmolive, which was until...
, next to the Goldman Sachs Tower reminds people of the industry that used to line 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...
on New Jersey's Coast. Many of the names of Jersey City's downtown neighborhoods come from Dutch words or Dutch names from the early inhabitants along the Hudson. Paulus Hook is a quiet mostly residential neighborhood stretching to the west from the Goldman Sachs building. Its main streets are Essex and Morris Streets and its waterfront is along the Morris Canal, where it maintains a walkway which is part of Jersey City's longer waterfront walkway. The Essex Street
Essex Street (HBLR station)
Essex Street is a station on the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail located between Hudson and Greene Streets in Jersey City, New Jersey, in the United States....
station on 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...
and the development of office buildings to the east have allowed more businesses to line Morris Street including a number of restaurants with outdoor seating. The Paulus Hook and Grove Street neighborhoods, unlike many other redeveloped neighborhoods on the Hudson have undergone the same revitalization with less gentrification
Gentrification
Gentrification and urban gentrification refer to the changes that result when wealthier people acquire or rent property in low income and working class communities. Urban gentrification is associated with movement. Consequent to gentrification, the average income increases and average family size...
. The Newport/Pavonia, Harborside Financial Center and Exchange Place neighborhoods on the waterfront are increasingly high rise and with the addition of the Light Rail and more ferry service the area has become a growing destination for businesses, residents and tourists. WALDO (work and live district overlay) is an area that is being redeveloped from its days as a warehouse center to an artist community. It is already home to several galleries and restaurants and development of artist housing, more galleries, a museum and stores are being planned. The former Hudson and Manhattan Railroad Powerhouse
Hudson and Manhattan Railroad Powerhouse
The Hudson and Manhattan Railroad Powerhouse, also known as the Jersey City Powerhouse in Jersey City, New Jersey was built in 1908. The powerhouse made possible the subway system between New Jersey and New York for the Hudson and Manhattan Railroad . The powerhouse was closed in 1929 and used as...
is the building that anchors this neighborhood and when it is renovated it will maintain its shell that so many locals are used to seeing. The Trump Plaza first tower is currently being constructed on the property to the south of the Powerhouse and when it is completed it will be the tallest building in New Jersey at fifty-five stories.