Community Facilities: Improving Quality of Life

49 IV Community Facilities: Improving Quality of Life Hoboken is graced with a number of historic Introduction community facilities buildings. The history of Hoboken as a City is tied to the history of its community and basic infrastructure. The sewers were the first to be built, as the Stevens family sold off its lots in the mid-1800s. While taken for granted now, the improvement to sani- tation brought by the sewers made bearable the density that has defined Hoboken ever since. Later, when Hoboken was coming of age as an industrial and trans- portation powerhouse, its community facilities were its public face. Constructed as much for their symbolic value as to fulfill practical needs, these structures were intended to give material form to the community’s aspirations for itself. Many of Hoboken’s public buildings that predate World War I, such as City Hall and the Demarest School, exhibit the massive proportions and fine detailing that city lead- ers during the period felt were essential to elevate the City’s public realm. The people who use Hoboken’s community facilities today have very different expectations of those facilities than residents did in the past. Where public bureau- cracies and buildings were once intended to inspire a sense of awe in the citizenry, today people expect openness, equal treatment, and a focus on customer service. Where infrastructure and waste collection were once kept out of sight, or at least out of mind, the new awareness of humanity’s relation to the environment means that utilities from trash removal to sewerage to electricity are coming under increased scrutiny. The concept of community facilities has also broadened to include new elements. A wide range of City-sponsored street festivals and celebrations has become part of the fabric of life in Hoboken. There is also an expectation that government will make an ongoing commitment to provide cultural offerings and to support local artists. Whether it is with regard to schools, cultural offerings, or other community resources, Hobokenites are demanding more, and better, facilities and programs. This plan element identifies ways to improve and modernize Hoboken’s community facilities to meet the needs of all citizens in the twenty-first century. Community Facilities 50 Existing Conditions City Government Facilities Located on Washington Street between Newark and First Streets, Hoboken’s Second Empire-style City Hall dates from 1883, with an addition and substantial renovations in 1911. A portion of the structure was used as an armory during World War I, and it became listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975 due to its architectural, military, and political significance. Most City government offices are located in this facility, as well as the City Council cham- bers/municipal courtroom on the first floor and a meeting room on the ground floor. Both of these rooms are somewhat limited in their usefulness for public meetings due to their size and arrangement. The building’s condition varies wide- ly. Some areas have been renovated, while others are in fair to poor condition. The Multi-Service Community Center includes a gymnasium, a senior citizen center with a dining room, and office and meeting spaces. Constructed in 1975, this facility contains 32,000 square feet of floor area. It is located at 120 Grand Street. The City Garage is located on Observer Highway between Park and Willow Avenues. This 20,000-square foot structure was built in 1980 to consolidate Public Works and other City functions from various other locations. Arts and Culture Despite its proximity to the vast cultural wealth of its neighbor across the Hudson, Hoboken has a rich cultural heritage all its own. Many think only of the legacy of Frank Sinatra, but Hoboken has been home to many who have made contribu- tions in the arts. Two pioneers of American photography, Dorothea Lange and Alfred Steiglitz, were born here. Composer Stephen Foster, Sculptor Alexander Calder, and prolific children’s book author Daniel Pinkwater are former residents. Musicians and artists also were among those who helped spark the City’s rebirth in the 1970s and 1980s. While the arts scene has dispersed somewhat since that time, many visual artists, musicians, photographers and filmmakers still live and work in Hoboken. The City’s Division of Cultural Affairs is responsible for a number of events throughout the year. Two of the most popular are the spring and fall art and music festivals, which attract tens of thousands of visitors to Washington Street. Other programs of this office are the "Summer Enchanted Evenings" series of outdoor concerts and movies in Hoboken’s parks, an artists’ studio tour, a holiday art and craft show, and art exhibits in City Hall. The City also hosts frequent parades for religious and ethnic festivals, which attract participants and spectators from throughout the region. The creation and display of art has become one of the City’s most noteworthy Community Facilities 51 City of Hoboken WEEHAWKEN MASTER PLAN 17TH STREET 16TH STREET 15TH STREET 14TH STREET City Government Building UNION CITY 13TH STREET 1 City Garage 2 City Hall 12TH STREET 3 Hoboken Public Library 10 4 Multi-Service Community Center 11TH STREET Public School 10TH STREET 5 Brandt Middle School 6 Calabro Primary School 9TH STREET 5 E 7 Connors Primary School V I R 9 D CASTLE POINT TERRACE A 8 Demarest Middle School R WASHINGTON STREET 8THI STREET T A N I 9 Hoboken High School S K FIELD STREET N A R F JEFFERSON STREET MONROE STREET MADISON STREET GARDEN STREET WILLOW AVENUE ADAMS STREET GRAND STREET PARK AVENUE HUDSON STREET CLINTON STREET 10 Wallace Primary School BLOOM 7TH STREET CITY HUDSON RIVER Private School JERSEY 6TH STREET Building shared by public and 6 private schools 3 5TH STREET Stevens Institute of 8 Technology 4TH STREET Fire Station H COURT STREET Police Headquarters 3RD STREET T E E R Ambulance Headquarters T S 7 2ND STREET N O T H St. Mary Hospital 4 G N I FRANK SINATRA DRIVE RIVER STREET H S A W MARSHALL ST. Post Office JACKSON STREET HARRISON STREET 1ST STREET PAT 2 E R STREET Electrical Substation S ON RK AV WA E E N N UE Sewage Treatment Plant HUDSON PLACE 1 OBSERVER HIGHWAY JERSEY CITY Feet 0 500 1,000 2,000 Map prepared by Phillips Preiss Shapiro Associates, Inc. March 2004 Map 5: Existing Community Facilities Base map source: Wilbur Smith Associates 52 attributes in the last three decades. Unique facilities such as the Monroe Center for the Arts at 720 Monroe Street are a testament to the permanent presence of artists in the community. The Monroe Center rents loft space to artists and also hosts a monthly open house for the public to browse and purchase artworks. Another similar facility is the Neumann Leather building on Observer Highway. The building houses artists’ studios as well as offices and industrial tenants in a complex originally occupied by a leather manufacturer. In addition to these large-scale buildings, there are a number of small, privately owned art and craft stores and studios throughout the City where local artists sell their wares. Performing venues in Hoboken are somewhat limited. The City does not have any such venues of its own, though temporary stages are often used at outdoor festivals. One of the larger venues is DeBaun Auditorium at Stevens Institute of Technology, which is used for university events as well as by community cultural groups. Some of the City’s numerous bars and nightclubs are home to original live music performances. Bars and clubs such as Maxwell’s, at 11th and Washington Streets, function as venues for live music, typically rock/pop acts by both local and nationally known artists. Other clubs that frequently host live music include RodeoRistra, on Washington Street between Third and Fourth Streets, and Goldhawk, at Park Avenue and Tenth Street. Still more arts- and culture-related activities can be found throughout Hoboken. Two current examples include the Projected Images film series, which hosts screen- ings of alternative and independent films; and the Symposia Project, which hosts discussion groups, films, and lectures. The Hoboken Historical Museum at 13th and Hudson streets hosts exhibits, walking tours and frequent lectures illuminat- ing Hoboken’s past. Popular culture in Hoboken is represented by the Hudson Street Cinemas, a two-screen movie theatre. The City also has two bookstores: a branch of the Barnes & Noble chain, located at 59 Washington Street, and the Symposia Bookstore, a used bookstore that recently moved from Willow Avenue to Washington Street. Library The Hoboken Public Library was among the first public libraries established under the New Jersey General Library Act of 1894. The current library building, a hand- some Italian Renaissance structure constructed of Indiana limestone, superseded a library established in 1890 that was located in the basement of a bank. The land where the library sits, at Park Avenue and Fifth Street, was deeded to the City by the Stevens family in 1896. The building opened in 1897. For much of its history, large portions of the library building were shared with private educational insti- tutions due in part to a clause in the original deed from the Stevens family. The most recent occupant, the Hudson School, recently moved to its own structure one block away, allowing the library to make more efficient use of its space. Community Facilities 53 The library’s holdings include approximately 52,000 volumes of books, 130 titles of periodicals, and approximately 3,000 titles of assorted media, such as compact discs, audiocassettes, and videocassettes.

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