There are four active historic districts in downtown Jersey City: Paulus Hook, Harsimus Cove, Van Vorst Park and Hamilton Park. These zones are designated to preserve the look of the brownstones and other older buildings on these streets. Any alterations to the exterior have to receive approval from the city’s Historic Preservation Commission before they begin.

Advocates pushed for the designations between the late 1970s and early 1980s at a time when brownstones and other buildings were either being neglected or getting torn down by investors looking to build new condos to make a quick profit.

Nevertheless, there was plenty of opposition when the districts were first being formed.
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There are four active historic districts in downtown Jersey City.
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Guy Catrillo, currently an employee in the Jersey City Mayor’s Action Bureau, was in his early twenties when he worked with activist icons such as J. Owen Grundy and Joe Duffy to sell Downtown residents on the idea of historic preservation.

“I remember some real fights over this issue, such resistance because many people didn’t care for the idea,” Catrillo said last week.

Grundy worked with Catrillo and other preservationists to create the city’s Brownstone Revival Committee in the 1970s to educate residents and visitors about the beauty and history of the brownstones on Montgomery Street and other parts of Downtown Jersey City. That led him to push the city to form the city’s Municipal Historic Districts Commission, now known as the Jersey City Historic Preservation Commission, which acts as a guide and watchdog to ensure that homeowners and developers adhered to historic guidelines.

The four downtown districts have been placed on both the National Register of Historic Places and the New Jersey Register of Historic Places. A fifth historic district, Bergen Hill, covering the neighborhood a few blocks away from the old Jersey City Medical Center, is no longer active.

Hamilton Park Historic District


Created in 1979 and expanded in 1982, the district covers the area surrounded by Brunswick, Grove, Sixth, 9th, and 10th Streets and Jersey Avenue. It spans 420 acres and contains about 520 buildings with a dominant architectural style of Late Victorian. Many of the structures were built in the period from 1850 to 1924.

The namesake park, Hamilton Park, is located between Eighth and Ninth Streets. At the present time, the park is undergoing renovation and improvements, including benches, updated playgrounds, a fountain, and the restoration of the tennis and basketball courts. Across from the park are the buildings of the old St. Francis Hospital, which is currently being converted into condos and retail spaces.

Also located in the neighborhood is part of the Sixth Street Embankment, a historic group of sandstone and granite walls spanning Sixth Street downtown, from Marin Boulevard to Brunswick Street. In recent years, people who want to turn it into a park and light rail route have been at odds with a developer seeking to build residential housing on the site.

Van Vorst Park Historic District


Formed in 1980 and expanded in 1984, this district spans Christopher Columbus Drive, Marin Boulevard, Grand Street, Bright Street, and Monmouth Street. It is about 770 acres with over 600 buildings, many built between 1875-1924 in the Greek Revival and Late Victorian styles.

Van Vorst Park itself is located on Montgomery Street and Jersey Avenue.

The district contains City Hall, the main branch of the Jersey City Library, and the Jersey City Museum.

Well-known buildings include the Heppenheimer Mansion, located on the southwest corner of Montgomery Street and Jersey Avenue, built in 1884 and owned by “General” William Christian Heppenheimer, founder of the Trust Company of New Jersey. The mansion is famous for hosting heavyweight boxing champion Jack Dempsey as a guest.

The former Majestic Theater on Montgomery Street has been transformed into condos, although the developers preserved some of the historic features.

Paulus Hook Historic District


Created in 1982 with additions in 1985, this district is located on Greene, Washington, Henderson (also Marin Boulevard), Grand, Sussex, Morris, Essex, Warren and York streets. It is approximately 210 acres and contains over 200 buildings built in Italianate, Greek Revival, and Late Victorian styles between 1800-1924. It is also an area steeped in history dating back to the 1600s, when the area was one of the first places settled by Europeans in Jersey City.

Landmarks in the district include the Paulus Hook Monument, marking the site where a key Revolutionary War battle took place in 1779 that led to the recapture of a fort by American troops from the British.

Also, a proposed waterfront park will be built on land that includes the iconic Colgate clock and site of the former Colgate factory.

Harsimus Cove Historic District


Formed in 1987 with boundaries of Grove, Bay, Second, Coles, and First streets and Jersey Avenue, the district encompasses 600 acres and over 300 buildings built in Greek Revival, Beaux Arts, and Late Victorian styles from 1850-1949.

The district also contains part of the Sixth Street Embankment. In fact, the embankment separates it from the Hamilton Park Historic District. Much of the Pennsylvania Railroad system ran through Harsimus Cove.

The Harsimus Cove area is carved out of the first settlement founded by the Dutch outside of Manhattan Island. Some of the major structures in this district include Grace Church Van Vorst, Jersey City Police Headquarters, and St. Mary’s Church.

Also, it is the location of the old Public School No. 2, now known as 60 Erie, a condo building converted out of the old school.

Looking at their historic districts


Charles and Yvonne Balcer has seen the Van Vorst Historic District evolve from an idea to a definitive neighborhood in the 30-plus years they have lived in the York Street brownstone where they raised their children. The Balcers were also protégés of the late J. Owen Grundy, with Charles Balcer, then a city employee in the late 1970’s working with Grundy and other preservationists to get the districts designated.

“Frankly, as a property owner, you are subject to certain conditions when you have to do rehab which can be more expensive and can put a burden on the homeowner,” Charles Balcer said of living in a historic district.

Irene Barnaby is the co-owner of the Lucky 7 Tavern located on the corner Second and Coles streets in the Harsimus Cove Historic District. The tavern is located in a building that dates back to the 1880’s. Barnaby said it has been “frustrating” as an owner as she and her partners have to go in front of the city’s historic preservation if any upgrades are needed, and they are allowed only to change the façade back to its original form.

But as a realtor in the Weichert Reality office on the corner of Montgomery and Grove streets in downtown Jersey City, she sees it a positive as she sells houses in all four districts and has memorized their boundaries.

“What make Downtown so charming are the historic buildings and the historic districts,” Barnaby said. “And the people who come in and buy know that the historic districts are good for their property values.”

Learning more


To learn more about the historic districts and some of the historic landmarks mentioned, visit the Jersey City Landmarks Conservancy website: www.jclandmarks.org. The group occasionally runs tours as well.

Ricardo Kaulessar can be reached at rkaulessar@hudsonrreporter.com.