Boulevard East (officially John F. Kennedy Boulevard East, and sometimes referred to as JFK Boulevard East) is a two-way, mostly two lane, scenic [1] [2] county road [3] in the North Hudson, New Jersey municipalities of Weehawken, West New York, Guttenberg and North Bergen. Apart from small sections at either end, the road runs along the crest of the Hudson Palisades, [4] affording it views of the Hudson River and the New York City skyline. Developed at the turn of the 20th century, [2] [5] the residential road is characterized by an eclectic mix of 20th-century architecture, including private homes as well as mid and high-rise apartment buildings, mostly on its western side, with a promenade and parks along its eastern side. It is also the setting for Edward Hopper's 1934 painting East Wind Over Weehawken , which is considered one of his best works.
Boulevard East runs along the crest of the Hudson Palisades. [4] It is so named in reference to the other major boulevard in Hudson County to which it is connected, Kennedy Boulevard. Prior to being renamed in honor of John F. Kennedy in the 1960s, the street was known as Hudson Boulevard. [6] While there was discussion of building a county long road as early as the 1870s, [7] parts of Hudson County Boulevard were officially opened in 1896. [8] [9] [10] By 1913 it was completed, and considered to be fine for "motoring". [11] Taken as a single road, the circuitous route of west and east sections of the entire boulevard runs from the southern tip of the county at Bergen Point to its northern border with Bergen County and south again to the Hoboken city line. [12] In local nomenclature, signage, addresses, transportation, and postal delivery, the name Boulevard East is used. [13] [14] [15]
Much of Boulevard East runs parallel to the edge of a sheer escarpment and offers expansive views the iconographic Manhattan skyline. Since 2009, when Macy's began to launch its annual Fourth of July fireworks from the Hudson River, [16] portions of the Boulevard are closed to allow spectators to view the display. [17] [18] [19] The Boulevard was proposed to be part of the Port Imperial Street Circuit of the Grand Prix of America. [20] [21]
The southern end of the road is an important component of local access to the Lincoln Tunnel, running past its Art Deco toll plaza and passing twice under the Lincoln Tunnel Helix, which carries New Jersey Route 495 and descends to meet it. Entering a residential district of Weehawken the boulevard steeply ascends northward until reaching the Boulevard Curve where it curves east, then north again and begins travelling along the edge of the Hudson Palisades. Just to the south of the curve is the Hamilton Memorial, relocated from the Burr–Hamilton duel site at the foot of the cliffs below Kings Bluff, named for James Gore King whose 19th century estate, Highwood, once stood there, and is now a residential neighborhood.[ citation needed ]
The road then passes Hamilton Plaza where for a brief time in the 1890s stood El Dorado, a pleasure garden offering theatrical spectacles, casinos, and exotic gardens. At Liberty Place it crosses over a now defunct cut through which once ran streetcars operated by North Hudson County Railway that connected to a massive elevator and ferries at Weehawken Terminal. Pershing Road is one of the few roads which connect the waterfront to the Boulevard and the top of the cliffs, and was once part of the Lincoln Highway. [22] At the southwest corner of 49th Street stands the gabled house depicted in East Wind Over Weehawken , a 1934 painting by Edward Hopper, which is considered one of his best works. [23]
Old Glory Park is near the town line of West New York where of the much boulevard is abutted by parks and scenic overlooks. A statue of Thomas M. Donnelly, instrumental in the preservation of the Palisades, is located in the park named for him. The trap rock walls that line much of the overlook come from quarry operations that he and the NJ Federation of Women's Clubs were able curtail at the beginning of the 20th century. [24] 60th Street, the main crosstown street for the town became Hillside Road (officially renamed for Anthony DeFino, who was mayor for 24 years [25] ) connecting the boulevard to River Road. One of the few residential neighborhoods on the cliff side of the boulevard is found north of the major crossroad at one of its more severe curves. It is here that the road reaches a height of nearly 260 feet near the highest point in Hudson County. [26] The park on 60th Street features a fountain erected in tribute to the victims of the September 11 Attacks. [27]
The three block section of the boulevard in Guttenberg is dominated by the Galaxy Towers, a Brutalist trio of octagonal buildings, which rise from the foot of the palisades and soar above them. Ferry Road passes underneath the complex. The Woodcliff Section of North Bergen, once known as Hudson Heights, is characterized by a combination of family homes and modernist high-rises, notably the cylindrical Stonehenge. Near the point where the road bears west and enters North Hudson Park the original Bulls Ferry Road makes a steep descent to the east.[ citation needed ] It is in the park, also named for famous son James J. Braddock, that Boulevard East intersects with Palisades Avenue, which continues north along the cliffs, and soon after ends at Bergenline in Nungessers. [28]
There are numerous bridges along Boulevard East crossing over clefts in the cliffs, many approaching 100 years in age. [29] A portion of the road was closed for six months in 2013 to replace one located in North Bergen. [30] [31]
![]() ![]() ![]() | |
---|---|
Boulevard East | |
Former name(s) | Hudson County Boulevard Hudson Boulevard |
Part of | ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Namesake | Henry Hudson John F. Kennedy |
Length | 4.7 mi (7.6 km) [32] |
Location | North Hudson, Hudson County, New Jersey |
Nearest metro station | Lincoln Harbor, Port Imperial (Hudson–Bergen Light Rail) |
Coordinates | 40°47′07″N74°00′31″W / 40.785139°N 74.008627°W |
South end | ![]() |
Major junctions | ![]() |
North end | ![]() ![]() |
Construction | |
Construction start | 1896 [8] |
Completion | 1913 [11] |
Boulevard East carries three county route designations. County Route 677 [33] begins as Park Avenue in Hoboken, becoming Boulevard East after crossing the viaduct over the Hudson Bergen Light Rail tracks. At Highwood Terrace in Weehawken it becomes part of County Route 505 . From 60th Street in West New York it is designated County Route 693 [34] until joining its western counterpart, designated County Route 501 . In total the route is slightly more than three miles long.
Addresses ascend from the first at number 300. [35] In Weehawken the numbers rise to 1055. At the border with West New York at 51st Street, the addresses jump to 5101, following the custom of taking the building number from the lower cross street. This system was jointly adopted by the North Hudson towns after streets were re-numbered after the opening of the Lincoln Tunnel in 1937.[ citation needed ]
New Jersey Transit bus routes 128, 165, 166, 168 travel along the boulevard between the Port Authority Bus Terminal and locations in Bergen County. NJT 23 [36] provides local service. Dollar vans, many of which originate at Nungesser's, also travel along the street to 42nd Street in Manhattan. Pershing Road and public stairs connect the road to Weehawken Port Imperial, where ferries and light rail are available.
The entire route is in Hudson County.
Location | mi [32] | km | Destinations | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Weehawken | 0.00 | 0.00 | ![]() ![]() | CR 677 continues south | |
0.20 | 0.32 | ![]() ![]() | Southbound exit only | ||
0.60 | 0.97 | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | |||
0.90 | 1.45 | Highwood Terrace | Route transitions from CR 677 to CR 505 | ||
1.60 | 2.57 | Pershing Road (CR 682 east) | Western terminus of CR 682 | ||
West New York | 2.20 | 3.54 | ![]() ![]() | Route transition from CR 505 to CR 693 | |
North Bergen | 4.60 | 7.40 | Bergenline Avenue | Nungessers | |
4.70 | 7.56 | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | Southern terminus of Route 63 | ||
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
|
Route 495 is a 3.45-mile-long (5.55 km) state highway in Hudson County, New Jersey, in the United States that connects the New Jersey Turnpike at exits 16E-17 in Secaucus to New York State Route 495 (NY 495) inside the Lincoln Tunnel in Weehawken, providing access to Midtown Manhattan in New York City. The road is owned and operated by the New Jersey Turnpike Authority (NJTA) between the New Jersey Turnpike and Route 3, the New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) between Route 3 and Park Avenue near the Union City–Weehawken border, and by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) east of Park Avenue, including the helix viaduct used to descend the New Jersey Palisades to reach the entrance of the Lincoln Tunnel. Route 495 is mostly a six-lane freeway with a reversible bus lane used during the morning rush hour. The bus lane, which runs the entire length of the freeway, continues into the Lincoln Tunnel's center tube.
Weehawken is a township in the northern part of Hudson County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is located on the Hudson Waterfront and Hudson Palisades overlooking the Hudson River. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 17,197, an increase of 4,643 (+37.0%) from the 2010 census count of 12,554, which in turn reflected a decline of 947 (−7.0%) from the 13,501 counted in the 2000 census.
Route 18N was a state highway in New Jersey from 1923 to 1929, when it was renumbered as Route 1 and Route S1A. Route 18-N was defined in 1923 to run "from Hoboken to New York State line by way of Weehawken, West Hoboken, town of Union, North Bergen, Fairview, Ridgefield, Palisade Park, Fort Lee, Englewood-Cliffs, Tenafly and Alpine." The part from Hoboken to Fort Lee was not built or taken over as Route 18-N; it seems to follow the old Bergen Turnpike to Ridgefield and then Route 5 east. Route 18-N's south end was at pre-1927 Route 10, now Route 5.
Lincoln Harbor is a station on the Hudson–Bergen Light Rail (HBLR) located at Waterfront Terrace, north of 19th Street, in Weehawken, New Jersey. The station opened on September 7, 2004. There are two tracks and an island platform.
Paterson Plank Road is a road that runs through Passaic, Bergen and Hudson Counties in northeastern New Jersey. The route, originally laid in the colonial era, connects the city of Paterson and the Hudson River waterfront. It has largely been superseded by Route 3, but in the many towns it passes it has remained an important local thoroughfare, and in some cases been renamed.
County Route 501 is a county highway in New Jersey in two segments 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 across Staten Island.
County Route 505 is a county highway in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The highway extends 20.64 miles from John F. Kennedy Boulevard in Union City to the New York state line in Northvale.
The Hackensack Plank Road, also known as Bergen Turnpike, 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 which it was named. It was originally built as a colonial turnpike road as Hackensack and Hoboken Turnpike. The route mostly still exists today, though some segments are now called the Bergen Turnpike. It was during the 19th century that plank roads were developed, often by private companies which charged a toll. As the name suggests, wooden boards were laid on a roadbed in order to prevent horse-drawn carriages and wagons from sinking into softer ground on the portions of the road that passed through wetlands. The company that built the road received its charter on November 30, 1802. The road followed the route road from Hackensack to Communipaw that was described in 1679 as a "fine broad wagon-road."
Bergen Hill refers to the lower Hudson Palisades in New Jersey, where they emerge on Bergen Neck, which in turn is the peninsula between the Hackensack and Hudson Rivers, and their bays. In Hudson County, it reaches a height of 260 feet.
North Hudson is the area in the northern part of Hudson County, New Jersey, situated on the west bank of the Hudson River, mostly atop the Hudson Palisades. It comprises Weehawken, Union City, West New York, Guttenberg, and North Bergen.
Weehawken 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, whose route traveled along the west shore of the Hudson River. It opened in 1884 and closed in 1959. The complex contained five ferry slips, sixteen passenger train tracks, car float facilities, and extensive yards. The facility was also used by the New York, Ontario and Western Railway. The terminal was one of five passenger railroad terminals that lined the Hudson Waterfront during the 19th and 20th centuries; the others were located at Hoboken, Pavonia, Exchange Place and Communipaw, with Hoboken being the only one still in use.
The Hudson Waterfront is an urban area of northeastern New Jersey along the lower reaches of the Hudson River, the Upper New York Bay and the Kill van Kull. Though the term can specifically mean the shoreline, it is often used to mean the contiguous urban area between the Bayonne Bridge and the George Washington Bridge that is approximately 19 miles (31 km) long. Historically, the region has been known as Bergen Neck, the lower peninsula, and Bergen Hill, lower Hudson Palisades. It has sometimes been called the Gold Coast.
Bulls Ferry is an area along the Hudson River, just north of Weehawken Port Imperial in the towns of West New York, Guttenberg and North Bergen in New Jersey. It takes its name from a pre-Revolutionary settlement belonging to the Bull family, who operated a row-and-sail ferry to the burgeoning city of New York across the river.
Pershing Road is a road located entirely in Weehawken, New Jersey that travels for 0.42 miles (0.68 km) on the Hudson Palisades between Boulevard East and Weehawken Port Imperial, and carries the designation Hudson County Route 682. At County Route 505, the road meets 48th Street, one of the very few two-way streets in the urban grid of North Hudson, which travels west to Bergenline Avenue and Kennedy Boulevard. It is named for World War I hero John J. Pershing. Earlier names have included Clifton Road, named for the estate on whose land it was located, and Hillside Road, which would speak to its location.
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. Shippen Street was developed at the start of the 20th century as part of the Weehawken Heights, one of the town's residential neighborhoods.
Route 63 is a short, 3.09-mile (4.97 km) long state highway in Hudson and Bergen counties in New Jersey. The route is known as Bergen Boulevard and concurrent with County Route 501 for most of its alignment. The southern terminus is at Kennedy Boulevard and County Route 501 in North Bergen. The route crosses the county line and heads along the boulevard through the communities of Ridgefield, Palisades Park, and Fort Lee before reaching its northern terminus at an interchange with U.S. Route 1-9 and 46 in Fort Lee.
The North Hudson Railway Company built and operated a streetcar system in Hudson County and southeast Bergen County, New Jersey before and after the start of the 20th century. It was founded by Hillric J. Bonn who became the first President in 1865 and served for 26 years until his death, and eventually taken over by the Public Service Railway. In its endeavors to overcome the formidable obstacle of ascending the lower Hudson Palisades, or Bergen Hill, it devised numerous innovative engineering solutions including funicular wagon lifts, an inclined elevated railway, an elevator and viaducts.
Palisade Avenue is the name given to a historic road which parallels the eastern crest of Hudson Palisades in northeastern New Jersey. It travels between Jersey City and Fort Lee, passing through Jersey City Heights, North Hudson, and Cliffside Park, with various parts carrying Hudson and Bergen county route designations. The avenue re-aligns itself at several places along its route as it crosses traditional municipal boundaries created in the 19th century. As a primary route running along the top of the Hudson Palisades, many segments offer scenic views of the Hudson River and the New York skyline. Since 2020 there is proposed state legislation to restrict building heights that would rise above the cliffs on the eastern side of Palisade Avenue along the entire corridor from Jersey City to Fort Lee.
Port Imperial is a community centered around an intermodal transit hub on the Weehawken, New Jersey, waterfront of the Hudson River across from Midtown Manhattan, served by New York Waterway ferries and buses, Hudson–Bergen Light Rail, and NJT buses. The district lies under and at the foot of Pershing Road, a thoroughfare traveling along the face of the Hudson Palisades, which rise to its west. The Hudson River Waterfront Walkway runs along the shoreline and is abutted by recently constructed residential neighborhoods, Lincoln Harbor to the south and Bulls Ferry to the north.
In 1892 the Hudson County Park Commission was created to plan a park and boulevard system like those provided in other cities such as Boston and Newark. The first feature the commission addressed was a county-long boulevard that would connect the future parks. The drive was called Hudson Boulevard (renamed John F. Kennedy Boulevard in the 1960s), and it became the principal north-south route in the county. It was constructed 1892-1897, under Chief Engineer Edlow W. Harrison, using existing roads in some places. In the southern part of the county it was built on New Bergen Point Road, and was thus an incarnation of the old King's Highway. From Bergen Point in Bayonne it wound north 14 miles almost to the Bergen County line, where it turned east in a loop through North Hudson Park and went south again as (Hudson) Boulevard East along the top edge of the Bergen Hill cliff to end at King's Bluff in Weehawken. The Boulevard East section was finished a few years later than the rest of the route. In 1908 the State of New Jersey reconstructed the road to "improve and beautify it." Although Hudson Boulevard became an important route in the county, and did connect the new parks, it has never been (for most of its route) the sort of continuous linear park feature that the term "boulevard" implies (Hudson County Park Commission, 1908.