It's time again for one of my favorite features here on the blog, Streetside Sights & Scenes! Of course, this is the place for a look at my non-supermarket photos of the area, so I'm going to take you on a tour of New Jersey a little bit. There's a lot of really interesting stuff in this state so I present the disclaimer that this is in no way a travel guide or a "best of" list, it's just some of my photos from the area. Many or most of them are pictures I collected while out visiting supermarkets, so the geographic areas line up pretty nicely with what we saw for the past year and a half of blog posts. By the way, if you're not so interested in this and want to get back to the supermarkets, may I recommend visiting the schedule on yesterday's post and returning for supermarkets on 5/1. Get ready for a whole lot of trains, hiking, and diners. Enjoy!
Bergen/Passaic Counties
Oakland: Diners & Sunsets
The Market Report's Diner Report: When you're passing through Oakland on 287, make sure to stop by the Oakland Diner just south of the ShopRite. As we'll see, I have a real love for diners and New Jersey is of course the diner capital of the world. This diner is packed with personality inside and out, with every inch of wall covered either in hand-painted murals or various memorabilia inside.
Not only is the diner a great environment, it has some of the best food around as far as diners go. Everything is homemade and delicious, and the service is great. Worth a stop!
And one more stop in Oakland before we move on, just a shot of the sunset over route 287.
I have a good friend who moved recently from Massachusetts to New Jersey and amazed at our sunsets. Apparently they're much nicer in New Jersey than in Massachusetts.
Stores in this Area
Bloomingdale/Ringwood: Norvin Green State Forest
In the mountains high above most of Bergen and Passaic Counties, we enter Norvin Green State Forest, on the border of Ringwood and Bloomingdale. With elevations of up to 1300 feet, the highest points here offer views of the New York City skyline, but even the lower points have some pretty spectacular vistas over the dense forests that cover much of the northwestern part of the state.
There are any number of trails that can bring you to the top of the mountains here, and they're all quite beautiful. I've been here at least a few times for hiking.
The above panorama might work better if you click on it to zoom in!
But it's certainly a great view if you do get up there, again even to some of the lower points. And if you're in the area...
Stores in This Area
Wayne: Retail Relics at Wayne Hills
At the Wayne Hills Mall, a revitalization effort has been underway to turn the
abandoned indoor mall and its outparcels into a new retail center. The anchors are now Burlington Coat Factory, ShopRite (where the indoor mall once stood), and LA Fitness (in a former Pathmark). Outparcels in strip-mall format remain as a vacant Toys R Us and Kmart still stand to this day, complete with their signage.
Stores in This Area
Fair Lawn: Cookies & Hot Dogs
Once a large employer in Fair Lawn, Nabisco recently closed its plant in town at Maple Avenue and route 208. The property is
to be redeveloped after the factory is demolished. Just across Maple Avenue is Johnny & Hanges NJ Weiners Restaurant (famous since 1939, of course), with a great classic interior and delicious hot dogs and fries.
I love these little spots for quick casual dining, which of course are always way better than any fast food stops.
I first saw this way back (maybe summer 2020?) when I was in the area visiting stores. I drove by, but kept thinking I should've stopped to eat. Instead, I went on to get a mediocre overpriced sandwich at the Kings in Midland Park. But I came back in February 2021 for lunch and was not disappointed.
Johnny & Hanges has great hot dogs but I do have a favorite hot dog spot which we'll see a little later.
Stores in This Area
Little Falls: Rails Past & Present
These pictures show the Montclair - Boonton line of New Jersey Transit, which goes from Hoboken to Hackettstown and back, through (surprise surprise) Montclair and Boonton. Here in Little Falls, we check it out at the northern end of the West Essex Rail Trail, which was once the Morristown & Erie mainline from here in Little Falls down to Morristown via Cedar Grove, Verona, the Caldwells, Roseland, Livingston, East Hanover, and Hanover. Today, the line only goes as far as Roseland for the Polaner jelly factory (now B&G Foods) and a lumber yard on the Roseland/Livingston border.
But the Montclair-Boonton line remains very much in service and, as we see here, in very good repair. More on trains shortly.
Stores in This Area
Passaic: Visiting Downtown
The birthplace of television is right here in Passaic, New Jersey, a pleasant small city with a lively downtown. Here's a few shots of the wide and bustling Main Avenue in town.
There are too many stores in downtown Passaic to list individually, so...
Stores in This Area
Garfield: More Trains, Up Close
I got lucky when visiting the former ACME (now Campesina Farm/Food Village) in Garfield, as a New Jersey Transit train just happened to be passing by behind the store. As a matter of fact, it was being powered by a Metro North locomotive (from NY); the two rail systems frequently lease equipment from each other depending on need. And don't miss the ACME sign in the foreground!
Stores in This Area
Hackensack: More Retail Relics
After 87 years, the wonderful historical Sears in downtown Hackensack
closed in 2020. This isn't a great picture, but I wanted to have it anyway. I do hope that any redevelopments that are planned here maintain some character of the beautiful art deco building.
Essex County
Verona: Visiting Downtown
Lots of small shops and restaurants line Bloomfield Avenue in downtown Verona, which is situated about halfway between Caldwell and Montclair -- both of which similarly have great shops and restaurants along Bloomfield Avenue, along with a supermarket or two.
The Market Report's Diner Report: The Verona Diner used to be one of my favorite diners, but recently it's gone downhill really badly. At this point, I'd recommend skipping it and checking out Caldwell up the street...
Stores in This Area
Caldwell: Visiting Downtown
Much like Verona, downtown Caldwell has a lot going for it, with plenty of nice restaurants and stores. There's a lot to do (mostly eat), but this sign caught my eye posted for many decades, I'm sure, on the side of a building at Bloomfield and Smull.
The Market Report's Diner Report: Can't go wrong with the Caldwell Diner, right downtown. It's by far the best diner around with exceptional food and really good service. Other spots worth checking out include Calandra's Italian Village and Forte east of town for exceptional Italian food, Angeloni's right behind Foodtown for more Italian food, Dough for some of the best pizza you'll ever have (yeah, there's a lot of Italians here), and BK Thai -- formerly Bangkok Kitchen, hence the BK -- which has fantastic Thai food.
Stores in This Area
West Orange: K-Vaccines
What an interesting image, and certainly one that would cause a fair amount of confusion if seen by someone, say, 20 years ago. The vacant K-Mart of West Orange, NJ (right next to the Whole Foods) became a county vaccination site for the coronavirus, which was such an odd snapshot of that very specific time in history that I couldn't help but preserve it.
Stores in This Area
West Orange: Eagle Rock Reservation
The view from the Eagle Rock Reservation takes us over Montclair/Bloomfield/Newark in the foreground, with Jersey City behind those and, of course, Manhattan beyond that. The day that I snapped the above picture, I was fortunate enough to have a beautiful clear sky and therefore a very clear view out to the city. Some nighttime pictures from Essex County's 9/11 memorial at Eagle Rock (every county in NJ has a memorial)...
It's quite the view at any time, even if it's cloudy.
The Market Report's Diner Report: They took away my favorite right across the street from the reservation, the Eagle Rock Diner, and replaced it with a new fancy two-story monstrosity called the Chit Chat Diner, which is barely a diner. And maybe I was just unlucky, but I recall the Americana Diner on Main Street in West Orange being pretty terrible (although it looks like it may have improved since I was there years ago, based on reviews online). This is probably the best place to also mention the State Street Grill in Bloomfield, a favorite of mine. The Market Report's Award of Culinary Excellence goes to Fortissimo at Eagle Rock and Pleasant Valley, the best pizzeria in the area.
South Orange: Town Hall THEC
No New Jersey retrospective would be complete without the state's signature dish (or one of many, I should say). The Taylor ham egg and cheese -- or is it a pork roll egg and cheese? -- sandwich is a must-try for any out-of-staters, and if you ask for the best in the state, Town Hall Deli's is up there.
Town Hall's doesn't hold back on the fillings, with multiple layers of fried egg, lots of gooey American cheese, and several slices of grilled pork roll on a hefty Kaiser. But believe it or not, this isn't even the Town Hall's claim to fame. Instead, they insist that they are the birthplace of the Sloppy Joe.
This claim, of course, is also shared by several other delis in the area, including the wonderful Fairchilds Market in Roseland. I couldn't tell you which one it truly is, but Town Hall and Fairchilds are undeniably worth stopping at for a delicious sandwich. And I do love the interior of the Town Hall deli too...
The Market Report's Diner Report: Blue Moon Diner in downtown South Orange is fine. Haven't been there recently, but I remember it being solid -- nothing special, though.
Stores in This Area
City of Orange: Visiting Downtown
The City of Orange is, of course, not a city. It's a township. Why would you think it's a city? Anyway, it's one of the cities, excuse me, townships, whose downtown area was cut in half by the construction of route 280, but the downtown area remains with two separate strips, one on Central Avenue (shown above/below) and one on Main Street.
There's no reason to have this picture of an excavator sitting precariously above a pile of rubble, other than the fact that I like it...
And this painted billboard, for some store that's long gone, was on the back of a building on Central Avenue facing the municipal lot in the rear.
Stores in This Area
Newark: The Other Penn Station
Everyone knows about the famous Penn Station in New York City, however Newark also has a Penn Station. The stations were named after the Pennsylvania Railroad, which constructed them both (in New York City, Grand Central Terminal was constructed by the New York Central Railroad). Ever wonder why there's so many Union Stations? That just means that it was jointly constructed by two or more railroads. Except, of course, for the one in Union, New Jersey. More on that shortly.
The Market Report's Diner Report: You MUST visit the Tops Diner over the river in East Newark. End of discussion.
Stores in This Area
Millburn: Greenwood Gardens
A beautiful former estate and its grounds tucked away in a residential area of Millburn has been opened to the public as Greenwood Gardens. Having driven by it on Old Short Hills Road a thousand times, I was very surprised to find that it was rather expansive set far back from the road. It makes for some beautiful strolling, although it's too small for serious hiking.
And in one part of the grounds, I spotted this deer having a nice nap in the sun. Also in town are the Hartshorn Arboretum and part of the South Mountain Reservation.
The Market Report's Diner Report: The Millburn Diner is pretty good, but not really special.
Stores in This Area
Livingston: Canoe Brook and Other Explorations
Livingston is a fairly average suburban area, but the town didn't really become a residential area until the suburban boom of the 1950s-60s. So most of the development in town is roughly that age, but there's also a few areas that were left out of the development, mostly around Canoe Brook, a small brook that runs through the town and the surrounding area.
So there's not much hiking within Livingston, but there are some unexpected almost-wilderness areas like these around Canoe Brook. If I'm not mistaken, most of these photos were taken in the forest behind the high school.
And there are definitely defined trails, which is a nice feature for those who live in the area. But there's no big expanse of wilderness.
And for Canoe Brook itself...
The Market Report's Diner Report: Skip both diners in Livingston (the Ritz and the Livingston). The Ritz gets great reviews and has been featured on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives but it's simply not that good. The Livingston Diner is just mediocre overall. Diner alternatives in town include Eppes Essen, a Jewish deli with excellent but very expensive food, and Argyle Marketplace, a small deli with exceptional food and really nice people.
Livingston: Riker Hill Art Park
A former Cold War-era military base in Livingston (so positioned because Livingston is in the mountains above New York City; Riker Hill was one of several that surrounded NYC) has been repurposed as artists' studios and residences owned by the county. While the facility has been renovated over the years and continues to have a lot of work done, there are still some clear Cold War-era relics left around the property.
It is possible, too, to hike up to the property via a spur on the Lenape Trail. You connect through Becker Park, also called the Dinosaur Park as fossils were found there, and hike straight up the steep hill.
Riker Hill Art Park, as it's called today, hosts open houses a few times a year when you can visit, see the artists working, and buy their work directly from them, which are certainly worthwhile events to visit.
Stores in This Area
Hudson County
Hoboken: NYC Views and Frank Sinatra
A beautiful (but bitter cold) day brought me to Hoboken, where I spent some time on Frank Sinatra Drive along the waterfront. Hoboken once was an entirely industrial waterfront, but in the last 15 years or so the city has seen an enormous redevelopment involving lots of very high-end developments along the waterfront. What once was Pier C is now Pier C Park, shown here in these pictures with Manhattan clearly visible just across the water.
Walking out on the former pier affords us some excellent views of the skyline.
And in case you were wondering, yes, Frank Sinatra is famously from Hoboken.
Stores in This Area
West New York, NJ: Just a Cool Sign
Yeah, not much more to say about that.
Stores in This Area
Northern & Central Union County
Summit: Look Inside the Oakes Center
Just outside of downtown Summit is the Oakes Center, a nonprofit multiuse space in a converted church. The former main room of the church has beautifully been converted into a theater space. Certain remnants of the church are still in place, such as the pews and the stained glass windows, but the space has been outfitted for theatrical use. It's been the home of regional professional theater
Vivid Stage since 2012, and a community theater also uses the space.
While unfortunately the curtains have to be closed for shows (and anyway, most of them are at night when there's no light coming in through the windows), the stained glass is quite striking during the day when no other lights are on inside. The oldest operating gas station in Union County, now a Delta, is over on Summit Avenue, and Overlook Hospital is on the hill above downtown.
The Market Report's Diner Report: You can't go wrong with almost any restaurant in Summit, and that holds true for the diners too. Summit Diner (a wonderfully preserved lunch car), the Broadway Diner outside of town, and Peppercorn Restaurant (a tiny but excellent and newly renovated place) are all worth a try. For fans of Latin cuisine, Latin Bistro, Buena Vista, and Azucar are all great; the Summit Greek Grill, Natale's Bakery, Negeen Persian Grill, and too many others to name are worthy of mention as well.
Stores in This Area
Greater Elizabeth
Union: GHI at Five Points
I mentioned above at Johnny & Hanges that their hot dogs are good, but I have my favorite spot for a hot dog. And if I'm not mistaken, these aren't just any hot dogs, they're dirty water dogs -- or hot dogs that are boiled rather than grilled. They come from Galloping Hill Inn (a.k.a. GHI) at Five Points, an element of idiosyncratic local terminology I discuss in a post from Five Points. The hot dogs (and everything else) are great at GHI, but you come here for the fries. Crispy and always perfectly hot -- not to be missed. And here's GHI on a February evening in 2020...
Stores in This Area
Union: The Other Union Station
I love to watch trains, and back quite a few years when the Union Station opened in Union (we already saw "the other Penn Station", so now we're seeing the other Union Station), I would go to see trains every once in a while. I know I have some pictures of trains from that spot, but for whatever reason I can't seem to find any, so we're stuck with unfortunately just shots of empty track.
Above, we're looking west, and east (towards Elizabeth and the waterfront) below.
While I don't remember exactly when these pictures were taken, it would've been around 2005, or right around the time the station was constructed. This line is used for both passenger (NJ Transit) and freight (CSX) traffic. Note the dual sets of track in the area near the platform: that was constructed to accommodate the two types of traffic, allowing passenger trains to pull right up to the platform while keeping freight trains -- which pass through at a pretty good speed -- away from the people.
Stores in This Area
Roselle: A White Rose by Any Other Name
The Market Report's Diner Report: Just as there is White Castle, there were once many other White-named fast food restaurants, and in the Elizabeth area there is White Rose System. (White Rose, as in the wholesaler that served Met and Pioneer, was in Carteret -- only about five miles away.) There were several, but only a few remain and they don't seem to be related to each other anymore. I'm not sure what they would've been like originally (more fast food like White Castle or more like a diner), but today this location at First and Walnut in Roselle is an interesting hybrid: fast counter service, but with the menu of a diner more than a burger joint.
Clearly, the interior has been renovated but still maintains that classic look. The food was tasty, quick, and cheap.
The Sunrise Diner is maybe a 3-5 minute drive northwest, and the food is good but not spectacular. I, sadly, have not been to the other White Roses and cannot speak to their quality.
Stores in This Area
Elizabeth: Going Up Broad Street
Every place has its own regional slang, and Elizabeth, New Jersey is no exception. I lived there for all of about two months -- but both my parents are from the city, so I know it quite well. Ever been on a sliding pond? Well, if you've ever gone to a playground, climbed up a ladder, and slid down a flat or curved surface, you have. Everywhere else, they're called just slides, but in Elizabeth and parts of Newark they historically were called sliding ponds, which is a butchering of the phrase slide upon. Well, if you're in Elizabeth, you go "down Elmora Avenue," in the Elmora business district, but you go "up Broad Street," the main street in downtown -- or, as it has been rebranded by the chamber of commerce or something, Historic Midtown.
Fair warning, the newest of these pictures is probably about six years old at this point, and the oldest is probably closer to 15. We begin at the northern end of downtown, just off Broad Street. This was the old Jersey Central railroad mainline, with the old train station's tower visible prominently here. This area is currently being redeveloped with some much-needed investment, including rebuilding the existing (terrible) Elizabeth train station, which for a city of almost 200,000 people right outside New York City is nothing but two platforms at the side of the tracks.
Here we see the existing Northeast Corridor (top, with the pathetic Elizabeth station visible too) -- formerly the Pennsylvania Railroad's mainline -- and the former Jersey Central mainline, now abandoned, lower.
A closeup of the Jersey Central mainline overpass, which is quite low as we see. We're looking north towards North Elizabeth and Newark here. The Northeast Corridor line crosses this area in an impressive series of stone arch bridges, the
primary one of which crosses Broad Street and divides Broad from North Broad, and is called simply The Arch.
There are also a few places that the line crosses pedestrian walkways and old streets, which are all very impressive if you like this sort of thing. Which I do.
It seems that there will be a fair amount of work put into restoring these old structures in the upcoming construction, which began as of last summer. There's an enormous amount of development going on around the city, and my family members who moved away are shocked every time they return. It remains to be seen if Elizabeth will be the next Jersey City or Hoboken, but for right now, it's cheap and ridiculously close to NYC on the train. I know of some actors, for instance, who work in NYC but live in Elizabeth because of location and cost. Plus, it's got almost all the amenities you could want, and vastly improved public schools from when my parents and grandparents were going to school here.
There's never enough parking downtown, but this garage is a lifesaver. And it's got a cool sign.
This is the back of
this wonderful building. Unfortunately, I don't know what it would've been originally.
A ca. 2010 photo from the construction of
another new parking garage downtown, near the county administration offices. My grandmother, who has lived in Elizabeth for her entire life, has a personal vendetta against mayor J. Christian Bollwage, after whom that parking garage is named. We're not sure why, he's not sure why, and we're not even sure she knows why. But anyhow. I have and express no opinion on Bollwage; from what I know he's always been pleasant and polite when I've interacted with him in some way, but I really don't have anything else to say.
Hersch Tower, which is a gorgeous art deco building that sadly fell into disrepair for many years. Elizabeth is definitely a city, but it doesn't necessarily have a very strongly developed skyline (which, of course, is changing as we speak). Hersch is one of the early skyscrapers -- if you can call it that -- in the city, with the courthouse being the only other historically tall building. More tall buildings have since been built and are still under construction.
Shoppers World! This discount department store (emphasis on discount) was originally Goerke's and later Steinbach, brands of Supermarkets General -- a.k.a. Pathmark. Downtown Elizabeth was once a prime shopping destination but has lost its retail prowess to the extremely popular Jersey Gardens Mall, which is out by the Newark Airport. Incidentally, Jersey Gardens -- along with about half of the Newark Airport -- is in Elizabeth, too. Other fine retailers on Broad Street include Bobby's Department Store and Bargain Man.
Broad and Jersey looking north. You can see Hersch Tower in context here. And by the way, Hersch Tower is currently being renovated for new residences (the optimistic timeline outlined in
this 2018 piece has not been achieved), and while we're at it,
here's a look at just one of many more additional developments happening in the area of the train station.
So while it's good that there is development and investment in the city, it also means that some of the historical character of Elizabeth is at risk of being erased. Jersey Digs, whose articles I linked above,
covered that issue last July.
A look north on Broad Street from just above Elizabeth Avenue.
Here's the county courthouse, which is one of the largest and tallest buildings in Elizabeth. And the main library is next door...
Bonus Photo: The overpass for the former Jersey Central mainline, later Conrail and now abandoned for 25 years, on Elmora Avenue between Westfield and Grand (where Food Bazaar is), is quite low. Trucks have repeatedly gotten stuck under the bridge -- which has been out of service for over two decades now. Here's one from around 2009...
And from around the same time, here are some shots of construction on Broad Street. This was the beginning of the big development period in the city, although it got off to a slow start. At the time these pictures were taken, the whole Broad Street corridor was receiving new sidewalks and related things (streetlights, benches, etc) and the parking garage was being built.
The parking garage is located behind Broad Street, near the Union County College Elizabeth campus.
I don't remember specifically whether I took these pictures or whether it was a family member, but it's a pretty good set of photos. I especially like this last one, which is included only because I think it looks cool...
The Market Report's Diner Report: You can't go wrong with the Tropicana on Morris Ave.
Stores in This Area
Elizabeth: Down the Port
Just as you go up Broad Street and down Elmora Avenue, you go down the port. The port being the Elizabethport neighborhood, which is both a residential and industrial neighborhood and a functional port. In fact, Elizabethport and Port Newark, which border each other and are operated as a single port, form the most major seaport on the East Coast.
We arrive at the Veterans Memorial Park on the waterfront, constructed after Hurricane Irene (or maybe Sandy?) destroyed much of the neighborhood. There was, by the way, once a Fine Fare supermarket in this neighborhood along with at least one other in the city, and going way back there was a different chain supermarket -- an old family photo shows my great-grandmother with my aunt in front of the store's storefront. I've been unable to identify what or where that store was.
So what we're looking at here is actually the Elizabethport Reach of the Arthur Kill, and on the other side of the water we see Staten Island. We're looking here at the very northwestern tip of Staten Island, and you can see just how close it is here. The Goethals Bridge crosses just south of here.
Here's a look at the container terminal across on Staten Island, and the Goethals Bridge in the background. Front Street runs along the water, but actually forms a dead-end at the park now because of this bridge that was damaged in the hurricane and simply abadoned rather than repaired. First Street, the next block over, now has a newer bridge that crosses over to Old Bayway (originally a residential neighborhood, then became industrial, then when the Goethals Bridge was built relocated to the northwest in what's referred to as Relocated Bayway; the final residential sections of Old Bayway were demolished for the existing Goethals about 10 years ago).
Here's the other side of the Front Street Bridge, with its famously gigantic concrete counterweight.
On the other side of the bridge, in Old Bayway,
here's a look at Bayway and Amboy Avenues in 2012. (If I'm not mistaken, my grandmother grew up in one of those two corner buildings, but I don't know which.) And
here's the same view in 2021. The industrial portion of Bayway now also takes up a gigantic portion of land across route 95, and the residential portion lies mostly along Bayway Avenue between 95 and 1&9 at the Bayway Circle. And it's not at the port, but if we go just a little bit out Elizabeth Avenue...
...we get the greatest rivalry, that between
Jerry's Frankfurters and Tommy's Sausage, near Union Square on Elizabeth Avenue (which is frequently called just the Avenue). I'm no expert, but I'm convinced Tommy's is better -- and their potatoes in a cup certainly are. They're not fries, but deep fried potato chunks served with ketchup drizzled on top and a wooden fork. You can't beat it.
Stores in This Area
Rahway: Another Lunch Stop
The Market Report's Diner Report: Not exactly a diner...
...but Sam's Luncheonette kind of diagonally across the street from the Universal Food Markets in Rahway is still a great little place.
Stores in This Area
Monmouth / Ocean Shore
Navesink: Oceanic Bridge
Moving through the Monmouth/Ocean shore areas from north to south, just as we did in the original posts, we first stop in Navesink (near Fair Haven) for a look out from the Oceanic Bridge, which crosses the Navesink River from Atlantic Highlands to Rumson.
Stores in This Area
Long Branch: Visiting Downtown
Welcome to downtown Long Branch! The shot above is from Broadway, with the Exito Fresh Market visible to the left (see the red awning). We have a look too at the wonderful art deco building of the State Theater to the right, although sadly we do not get to see inside that one. Across the cross street is this empty lot...
...which was supposed to be developed into a large mixed-use development with a SuperFresh on the ground floor, but it seems that project has been either canceled or suspended, so Long Branch will be SuperFresh-less for now.
One of the small storefronts on Broadway is this wonderful classic drugstore that I just had to go inside, and I was not disappointed.
I love independent drugstores, though of course not as much as independent supermarkets. I still thought this one was worth snapping a few pictures of...
Stores in This Area
Point Pleasant Beach: Winter at the Shore
Not too much to do here at the Point Pleasant Beach boardwalk (and yes, Point Pleasant Beach is a separate municipality from Point Pleasant) in the winter, but the sunsets on this frigid day were quite beautiful.
A 30-degree walk along the ocean at sunset is remarkably invigorating.
And here's a look at the sunset from the Mantoloking Bridge between Brick and Mantoloking.
The Market Report's Diner Report: I'm not familiar with too many diners around here, but I don't need to be because I never go anywhere but the Rainbow Diner in Brick.
Greater New Brunswick
New Brunswick: Visiting Downtown
Here's a look at downtown New Brunswick, more or less, from George Street where the Bravo is.
Stores in This Area
Greater Somerville
Somerville: Visiting Downtown
Somerville has a great downtown, much like I mentioned for Summit and a few other towns to the north. Lots of places to shop, antique stores, restaurants, and so on. Main Street, or NJ-28, is shown here. It's the primary thoroughfare, although there's also routes 202 and 206 that pass through the outside of town, more like highways than streets.
Somerville has an excellent downtown for walking, and there's a lot of housing development in the town too. It's very close to a train station, which of course makes commuting easy.
And there's a nice post office...
Stores in This Area
Hillsborough: Duke Farms
Welcome to Duke Farms, a large former estate and grounds/farm that is also now open to the public for walking and hiking. The 1000+ acre property is a beautiful place for a walk and you see a variety of features, from gardens to bodies of water.
It's situated right outside Somerville on route 206 south of town. Thing is, it's not a secret so on a beautiful weather day, it'll be very crowded.
Because it was an estate, there are all kinds of interesting structures around the enormous property. The main building is visible in the first picture.
One of the most impressive things about New Jersey is the state's variety. We're just 10 miles outside of New Brunswick and 40 from Times Square, and yet we're out in the countryside.
The state also has a lot of public and private/non-profit preserved land, such as this, so although we're the most densely populated state we also have a lot of variety in scenery -- as you're probably picking up on from these pictures.
Sadly, though, I have never been to a diner in this part of the state, so there will be no diner report.
And here's another look at the main buildings and the lawns surrounding them.
Stores in This Area
Greater Plainfield
Plainfield: Visiting Downtown
Plainfield is not a large city, but neither is it a small town. Above we're looking up the main street, Front Street, looking north from the southern end of town.
Here's the corner of Front and Park. The very tall building is a fascinating one -- I wonder what that was originally.
And here we are at the north end of downtown looking south. We can see the Supremo to the right.
Stores in This Area
Dunellen: Classic Cinema
Just a cool movie theater I saw and liked the marquee sign of. Downtown Dunellen is pretty small, so there's not much more to see here, unfortunately.
Stores in This Area
Great Swamp Area
Mendham: Brookside Post Office
What a post office! This one -- which is still in operation -- is north of the small downtown of Mendham in the Brookside area, near the Dismal Harmony preserve, which is very nice for hiking.
Stores in This Area
Green Village: Another Great THEC
The Green Village Deli's Taylor Ham, egg, and cheese sandwich is among the best in the state, according to The Star-Ledger's food writer Peter Genovese. I agree.
This, at the very least, is one of the most generous with piles of grilled Taylor ham and lots of melted cheese. Excellent home fries, too.
Stores in This Area
Parsippany - Great Piece Meadows Area
Boonton: Visiting Downtown
We take you now to downtown Boonton, a former ironworking town that now has a very pleasant downtown. It's a midsized town, so it's not a big city and there's really just one business district along Main Street, but there's certainly quite a few stores and restaurants along Main Street.
The town has a lot of historical buildings and some newer ones, making for a very pleasant layout. Main Street goes up a steep hill about halfway through the downtown.
And here's the higher-elevation portion of downtown.
As we see, many of the historical buildings have been nicely refurbished.
And here's an idea of the elevation changes that the town has, especially since it was built around a waterfall at the Boonton Gorge. More on that shortly.
Another attraction for some in town is the Olde Towne Deli, which also offers a Taylor ham egg and cheese sandwich. I found this one to be satisfying but not quite as good as the others.
It's definitely a lower-end one, with thinner slices of Taylor ham and overall it felt like the ingredients were cheaper and greasier. That's not necessarily a bad thing, though, for a sandwich like this.
The unassuming storefront on the lower half of Main Street.
And here's a look inside the classic interior.
Stores in This Area
Boonton: Trains & More Stuff
We begin at the headquarters of the United Railroad Historical Society of NJ just off Morris Ave, a cross street of Main St, at the southwestern end of town. This is at the bottom of the Boonton Gorge, and route 287 runs at the bottom of the valley we see here.
In fact, you can see the collection here from 287 up on the side of the hill. Part of the facility is a restored Lackawanna freight depot...
This facility is located on the former Lackawanna line that's now NJ Transit's Montclair-Boonton line, and I mentioned that in Little Falls above.
Here's where the train line crosses the Rockaway River, which just south of town forms the Boonton Reservoir, which stores water for Jersey City. We're going to head upstream along the gorge, first with a look at the back of Main Street...
And as we get into the area that used to be the industrial center of town, we find that much of it is abandoned or mostly abandoned at this point.
There's still a few buildings that are in service, but a lot of this is fenced off. I'm not sure if I was even supposed to be here, since I came from the north on a path along the gorge which was unmarked but at the southern part here there was signage that sounded like that path might've been off-limits. So I'm not sure how many of these pictures I'm
supposed to have.
As we see, there are also some abandoned roads and train tracks through this area. I assume that the development that's spreading downtown will eventually reach here, and these properties will all be cleared and redeveloped, but for now they're still abandoned industrial.
And then we get into the forest to the gorge...
This is quite beautiful but rather hard to get to (possibly prohibited?). Parts of the path to the north, extending from Grace Lord Park, are much better marked.
A series of waterfalls along the Rockaway River form the gorge.
And now we're at the definitely public northern end of Grace Lord Park...
And it's in this northern, higher-elevation part of town that the Kings is located.
Butler: Pyramid Mountain & Downtown
July 4, 2021 brought me to Pyramid Mountain, a preserve between Boonton and Butler. At the bottom of the mountain is Taylortown Reservoir, shown here.
Many of the less-developed towns to the north and west of the urban areas of Essex, Union, and Hudson counties have reservoirs for those cities. The Oranges get their water from reservoirs in Livingston and Millburn, for instance.
I'm not sure what the Taylortown Reservoir is used for, if any specific area. I also don't know if Taylortown ever was an actual place, but today there's not much between Boonton and Butler.
And here's a view from one of the beautiful lookouts on Pyramid Mountain! Heading into downtown Butler...
Butler's industry, interestingly enough, was rubber. I don't know if this mill downtown was constructed to manufacture rubber, but it's likely. Today, the town still has a railroad and light industrial presence.
The Market Report's Diner Report: Don't miss the Butler Family Restaurant downtown.
Stores in This Area
Greater Dover
Rockaway: Splitrock Reservoir
Another reservoir, although a bit to the west, is Splitrock in Rockaway. There start to be a lot of open and preserved land areas here, including Farny State Park around Splitrock Reservoir and Wildcat Ridge in the Hibernia section of Rockaway.
Here's Beaver Brook extending to the south of the reservoir. This historical area also has some out-of-use structures around it...
As the name Wildcat Ridge may suggest, this area does start to have some wildlife that can be dangerous, and again people don't think of large predators in the New York City metropolitan area but just 15 miles northwest of Paterson we're really out there. But wildcats, bears, and other large animals are not the only thing to be scared of here.
Here's the dam at the southern end of the reservoir, with a one-lane bridge over it. This dam was constructed around 2012 but the previous iteration was said to be haunted. Can confirm that there was nothing haunting this dam at least at the time of my visit.
Dover: Visiting Downtown
Downtown Dover is a pretty sleepy town, despite a population in town of almost 20,000. It's the biggest town on this side of Morris County, but it's not a large one. There is a train station, which is located very centrally.
Like so many other towns in New Jersey, we see some development popping up around the train station for commuters. There's not a whole lot going on in town otherwise.
The downtown area got a big lift in the 1950s when a mall was constructed in town on Bassett Highway, which is only a two-lane city street, not a highway. That mall contained a Food Fair, an ACME, and a JC Penney among other stores. That mall was killed by the Rockaway Townsquare when it was constructed right outside of town in Rockaway.
The town is historic, though, and has some interesting buildings.
One of them, over by the mall on Bassett Highway, is Harry Loory Fine Furniture, which only recently went out of business for good. Here's a look at the place when they were in business...
I'm sure this was once
the place to buy furniture in Morris County.
And across the street from that is the mall I was referring to, with an expansive parking lot still intact in the back.
The building down at the other end of this strip was the JC Penney...
But there are some signs of life, with the strip of stores in the next block east receiving a facade renovation. Hopefully there will be some more development here -- and possibly even a larger project at the Harry Loory property.
Stores in This Area
Sussex County
Andover: Along the Sussex Branch Trail
Formerly the Sussex Branch Railroad, the Sussex Branch Trail is a 20-mile rail trail that more or less follows 206 between Netcong and Branchville. While the scenery is nice, it's not quite as impressive as some of the other places we've seen.
The rail trail is quite nice to walk or bike on, though.
And the railroad bridges across the streets are intact, just with newer railings.
And you cross under another abandoned trail line here in a dramatic tunnel. If you follow this line west on Google Maps, you can find a lot more beautiful bridges and tunnels of the same vintage, including the famous
Paulinskill Viaduct near the PA border.
I do love the inside of abandoned train tunnels. Just wait until we get to Massachusetts, I've got a stunning one up there.
Stores in This Area
Hunterdon - Warren
Flemington: Northlandz
Model railroad lovers of any age or kind will need to make a stop at Northlandz in Flemington, NJ. There's simply nothing else like it in the world -- it's a 40,000 square foot building with three stories, and it's one of the world's largest model railroads. But the thing that makes Northlandz unique is that it was constructed by one person over the course of many years. The floor-to-ceiling cliffs and bridges were all done by hand, not from a kit.
And of course, sharp eyes will pick up a few grocery stores across the layout!
You may be surprised at the $30 admission charge, but it is entirely worth it. You've never seen anything like it and you never will again. I've selected just a few of my 300+ pictures of the interior to give you a sample, but not to spoil it too much.
When you enter the building, you are guided through a walkway that taked you all around the facility. It gives you a sample of a few different rooms with mountains and bridges and yards and so on. And naturally, visitors are blown away. Then you reach a doorway with a sign: You are now 2% of the way through Northlandz. You have 98% to go. I believe they remind you again at 25% and 50%.
Here's one of the most impressive structures, a bridge stretching almost across the whole building. There are literally hundreds of bridges in the displays.
There's also an interesting story here: the layout started in the basement of the founder, who later moved it to a separate building and then constructed this in the 1990s. He ran the place until 2019 or so, when he planned to retire. Unfortunately, in the last years, Northlandz fell into disrepair because he was an older man and no longer able to do a lot of the required upkeep. So the building was sold to an importer of Himalayan salt lamps and other such products, who planned to demolish the building and construct a new warehouse on it. But the importer bought the property sight unseen, and when he visited Northlandz for the first time after buying it, he was blown away and decided instead to keep it open and invest a lot of money into fixing it up with the required repairs that had been overlooked. These pictures were taken around late 2019 or early 2020, so it had begun to be fixed up but it's even in much better shape now.
Absolutely a place you do not want to miss if you're in the Flemington area!
Stores in This Area
Greater Princeton
Princeton: Campus Visit
It's not a secret that Princeton University has a beautiful campus, but it's one that's definitely worth visiting if you are in the area because it's right in the middle of town, and downtown Princeton is also beautiful. Above is the main gate on Nassau Street, the main street through town. Princeton University also runs its own art museum on campus, which is excellent, and there's a regional professional theater on campus too (McCarter). As the son of a nonprofit arts administrator...patronize the arts! New Jersey has a lot of great theater especially that's overlooked because of our proximity to New York City. But similarly, there's a lot of great theater in New York City that's not Broadway.
The campus was particularly beautiful when I walked through on a very cold day in the winter. Why is it that I always seem to be going places when it's exceptionally hot or cold? I spent a day once in Boston walking around in a record heatwave. I shouldn't have done that, huh?
Stores in This Area
Trenton: North of the City & Downtown
Hamilton: Post-Supermarket Monte Cristo
The Market Report's Diner Report: After a long, hard day of visiting supermarkets in Pennsylvania, starting in Bethlehem and ending in Morrisville right over the river from Trenton, I was tired and hungry and needed to get something to eat before heading back home. I definitely don't regret my stop at the Golden Dawn Diner in Hamilton, where I got this beauty of a Monte Cristo with delicious crispy french fries.
Stores in This Area
Camden: South of the City
Woodland: Getting Bogged Down
As we see, my pictures kind of peter out as we reach the southwestern portion of our tour. But I still thought I may as well have included this 2017 shot of one of New Jersey's many cranberry bogs, this one in Woodland, or about 20 miles east of Marlton.
And that's all, folks.
We have (finally) come to the end of this very, very long post, probably my longest yet. I hope it was enjoyable, though, to see a little more about the areas where the stores were that we visited! Now it's time for a break, and I will see you all back here on May 1 for our next state. And in the meantime, I will be doing a little memorabilia posting over on
Grocery Archaeology 4/17-4/23!
In case you're interested, the NJ Transit/Metro-North equipment situation is a bit more complex.
ReplyDeleteNJ Transit owns the Pascack Valley line, which provides service into NY via Bergen County. They provide service to 3 stations under contract with Metro-North. As part of the contract, Metro-North provides locomotives to NJ Transit, and NJ Transit is free to use them as they see fit.
Next time you're in Trenton, the Broad Street Diner is worth a stop. Try the pancakes.
Thanks for the additional info!
DeletePassaic may have to revisit that home of TV thing, since WRGB in Schenectady (NY) has been in existence since 1928 (the info. I see says 1931 for Passaic).
ReplyDeleteAlso, for anyone checking out Boonton, they usually have a display of painted dogs (and sometimes other things like cats or such) each year in the summer as an added bonus to see, if that is of interest.
Interesting, thanks for sharing!
DeleteThanks so much for writing this terrific blog post!
ReplyDeleteBelieve it or not, one of my favorite things about New Jersey is its shopping malls. Or more accurately, shopping malls were one of my favorite things about this state, until so many of them fell into decline. It really saddens me to see so many of them in bad shape. Especially heartbreaking is the current state of the Livingston Mall, as I probably visited that mall more times than any other mall.
--A&P Fan