Samuel Hird & Co./ Black Prince Distillery

The Athenia section of Clifton has long been known as one of the industrial hearts of the city. There was once a large steel mill right at the fork of the DL&W's old Boonton Branch. Motorists would better know this as the area where Route 46, Route 19 and the Garden State Parkway all converge today. On the other side of the tracks stood a small textile mill that dates back to the 1920s. 

The main building of the Samuel Hird Company's Clifton location was built in 1925. It was a large T shaped structure dwarfed by a tall brick chimney. 

Hird had originally set up shop in Garfield, but moved his wool manufacturing operation across the river. Early stories from residents tell of sheep that used to graze the land at the corner of Clifton Ave and Paulison. 

A warehouse was added behind the main factory just three years later, and a small strech of rail siding was laid down to accomidate deliveries and shipments for the company.

The only major change to the buildings was that a skybridge was built between the factory and warehouse in 1949 to make it easier to move goods around. 

The Black Prince Distillery moved into the old mill in 1982. They stayed put until 2019, when operations moved down to Tennessee. They stripped all of their tanks and equipment out, leaving the structures completely barren.  Clifton declared the parcel an area in need of redevelopment declared shortly afterwords, and the distillery started working with a group known as Clifton Station Redevelopment LLC. 

The buildings were only vacant a short time before being absolutely thrashed by local kids. This was, of course, due to the property being directly adjascent to the infamous "Gates of Hell". The owners made no effort to ever secure the property or buildings, in a move known as "demolition by neglect". This action ensured the property would become a problem for the city, which would help with redevelopment plans down the line. 

Funny enough, it was around the same time that my girlfriend and I moved to DeMott Avenue. We passed the distillery multiple times every day, watching it slowly disintegrate.  Naturally we spent a lot of time inside the property as well. There ended up being some decent grafitti inside, including one amazing Mexican flag mural. 

It was neat seeing regulars from different groups during our many trips. At one point some local skate rats set up ramps inside the warehouse and had it locked down so they and their friends could enjoy the place without having to worry about anyone showing up to spoil the fun.

Like all good things, the fun had to come to an end eventually. Demolition began on the complex in the fall of 2021. It took several months to level the nearly 100 year old mill, but by the following February the entire property was flat.

At the time this article is being written, the Clifton Station development is well underway. I'm not sure I'll ever get accustomed to coming out from underneath the rail bridge and not seeing the Hird Mill. Even though the structures are gone the memories will surely live on with all of those who found a home in the old vacant buildings while they lasted.

Union Theater

 

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The mid to late 1920's in America is generally remembered fondly as time of prosperity and grandeur. The rich were building garish mega mansions while companies reached towards the sky with sleek new skyscrapers. When I think of buildings from this time, I almost always think about the theaters. One such venue from this time is the Union Theater.

While the current interior may lead one to believe otherwise, the building was originally built in 1926. It originally opened as a large single screen theater with just over 1300 seats. Most theaters of this era have beautiful front entrances adorned with Terra Cotta ornamentation or decorative brickwork. For whatever reason the Union seems to have been built with a bland, undecorated front facade. 

Warner Brothers took over the theater from the original owners in 1941. They made a number of upgrades to the building, each time trying to make it more profitable. Unfortunately this resulted in much of the incredible decorative plasterwork being obscured by drop ceilings and other ugly decor. 

1978 the RKO Stanley Warner company put out an ad declaring that they had "twinned" the auditorium. This means they had split the large auditorium into two seperate rooms, which would each be playing a different movie at the same time. It was a common practice theater owners used to try and compete with the growing popularity of "multiplex" cinemas, or movie theaters with several different screens in one building. 

RKO Stanley Warner did everything they could to get the Union Theater to maintain a steady profit, each time coming up short. The now two screen theater was sold to Cineplex Odeon company, who at the time was one of the largest cinema operators in the world. They continued to show movies at the Union for two decades until a restructuring of the company resulted in the sale of many assets. 

By the spring of 1998 the building was once again sold, this time to a pair of men named Spiros and Stefan Papas; a father-son team. The two already owned and operated several nearby theaters, and saw the new project as an opportunity. Unfortunately instead of ripping down the wall and rejoining the two rooms, they went the other direction. They turned the venue into a 7 screen monster. Three new auditoriums were packed in each of the existing two rooms, with an extra screen tucked in the backstage area. The new auditoriums each had recliner seats with plenty of leg room. 

The new renovations seemed to go over pretty well. For over a decade things ran relatively smoothly, but it was eventually closed in 2014. At the time the residents of Union were largely upset at the loss. The cinema was an integral part of the township, and residents wanted a new owner to take over and resume operations. Empire Cinemas moved in the following year.

It seems that Empire came in with the intention of squeezing every penny out of the place that they could while doing little maintenence and no upgrades. Customers quickly began giving the theater horrible reviews, complaining about everything from the concessions to the seats to the screens themselves. Folks even reported rain coming into one of the auditoriums during heavy rains. For years conditions in the theater continued to degrade, until finally the township had had enough. In March of 2020 the township of Union shut down the building for various health and safety standards. They had been soliciting improvements to the building for years, which they claimed to be an eyesore right in the heart of downtown. Empire never responded to any of the inquiries. While many theaters shut down for good in 2020 the Union was among the first of them, finally ceasing operations on March 3rd. 

An article came out the following year that the township was planning to incorporate the land the theater sits on into their redevelopment plans. Unfortunately, their plans didn't include the theater. By this time most people had forgotten how beautiful the building originally was. Most of the decorative plaster still existed above the ceilings but the building was so soggy and built over many people probably had no idea. I made a few visits to the building as remediation began. I was hoping part of the process would include ripping down the false walls, bringing it back to its single screen grandeur. Unfortunately that never happened. It was so badly butchered up that I had to literally climb up into the false ceiling to be able to document the remaining details. I never ended up taking my camera out of my bag.

The story wraps up in 2023, when the building was finally demolished. It's so sad to see another North Jersey town lose its theater. While the building wasn't the most beautiful, the right person with enough money and vision could have done something great with it. Unfortunately we will never know for sure. 

The Oxford/ Van Nest Gap Tunnel

The Oxford Tunnel was a key part of the Warren Railroad, which allowed the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western railroad to run all the way up to Hampden, NJ via the Central NJ railroad. To this day I'm not sure why they decided this would be a worthwhile endeavor, considering the abundant mountains and valleys of Warren County. However, the history of the American Railroad network has proved to be full of arrogance and determination. The Warren Railroad would be no exception. James Archibald and McAllister & Wiestling were the engineers tasked with figuring out just where this new branch of John Blair's Railroad was to go. 

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As the planned line made its way to Oxford in 1853 the engineers discovered the most efficient path would involve blasting a tunnel through Oxford Mountain to reach the Van Nest Gap. A lack of resources and time required that a temporary track be installed to get things rolling while they worked on blasting out the tube.  While the nearby Manunka Chunk Tunnels along the same line were finished in two years, the Oxford tube took nearly nine. Trains finally started using the passage in the autumn of 1862.

As the line aged towards the new century, traincars were getting larger and larger. This presented a problem for the tunnel; the existing tracks didnt allow enough clearance for the bigger cars. Instead of spending any more time and money to expand the tunnel, the company chose to replace the double track with a gauntlet track instead. This allowed at least a single train to make it through the tunnel. The portals were also reinforced with concrete at the same time.

The gauntlet was only a temporary solution. Shortly after it was installed the DL&W Railroad began work on the Lackawanna Cutoff. The new line would allow trains to bypass the backup that was caused by the reduction in traffic at Oxford and shaved eleven miles off the journey.

The former right of way through Warren County began to be referred to as the Lackawanna "Old Road". It was mainly used for freight traffic, occasionally seeing use as a backup when the Lackawanna was delayed or impassable. Trains stopped using the Oxford Tunnel sometime in the 1970's or 1980's. The old road changed hands and saw a few partial revivals which makes nailing down an exact date tricky. I'm sure an area railfan will have an answer in the comments before long. Without regular maintenance the ancient drainage systems that once kept the tunnel manageably damp had become blocked, leading to flooding throughout the passage. By 1984 the marble dedication plaque was precariously exposed and in danger of falling. A team of men consisting of local enthusiasts volunteered to retrieve it, and after doing so it was re-installed at the historic Shippen Manor. 

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The first major collapse inside the tunnel is reported to have happened in 2007. That's according to premier New Jersey hiker and historian Mike Helbing. Mike grew up in the area, and is as credible a source as any. The man has hiked and bushwacked his way through more disused former rail bed than anyone I know. A second collapse in 2018 left the tunnel in precarious shape. Route 31 goes directly over the west portal, meaning any further deterioration posed a serious risk to anyone traveling over it. Helbing tried to raise the alarms, but local officials seemingly quashed his concerns. A shoddy fence was installed on the east portal in an attempt to keep people out, but the state owned west portal remained unobstructed for months until they also installed an equally shoddy fence. 

There have been no updates on the status of the tunnel in the last few years. Considering Oxford Mountain is pockmarked with collapsed and flooded abandoned mineshafts, it stands to reason the township and DOT will continue to ignore the problem until they can't anymore. I can only hope nobody is traveling on the roadway above when the next collapse occurs. 

Congregation B'nai Jeshurun

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High Street, now known as MLK Boulevard, was once an epicenter of jewish culture in the city. The corner of the Boulevard and Muhammed Ali Avenue holds one of the finest religious structures ever constructed within the boundaries of Newark. However, the story goes back even further than the landmark structure might lead you to assume. 

The B'nai Jeshurun congregation established Newarks first synagague in 1858. The building that we see today wasn't built until almost 60 years later though. The architect chosen in 1915 for the new temple was Albert S. Gotleib. The building rose up from the ground made of mighty brick and limestone. The inside of the temple was adorned with marble and Gustavino acoustical tile. 

The congregation left the city in favor of South Orange, and then moved again to Short Hills in 1968. The Hopewell Baptist church moved into the building, and continued to use it until 2017. We visited this incredible building before it got popular amongst the instagram tourist crowd. As a result, we had no idea what to expect as we descended the stairs towards the sanctuary. As we got close we heard someone sweeping up the corridor between us and the doorway we needed to walk through. I peeked around the corner and saw who it was; a lone man who didnt seem too much older than me. I called over to him and told him we didn't mean to bother him and that we just wanted a few photos of the building. After a brief moment of panic he welcomed us through, telling us he was just cleaning up the room he was going to be staying in. He also seemed mildly concerned, and told us that there are several other folks inside who might not be as cool with us. We took our photos quickly and went to head out but struck up another conversation with him on the way. Turns out he was just trying to find a good deserted place he and all his friends to live in while they worked out their demons. The most suprising thing of all was that he started talking about some YouTube videos of local abandoned places that he used to watch. Videos that I made 10 years ago. It was one of the most bizzare moments I've ever experienced.

Eventually the squatters were evicted and work started to bring the building back to life. For whatever reason the new owners stripped out all the pews and the original woodwork to replace them with cheap poplar. Thankfully that seems to be the only major change made to the main structure. The building hasn't reopened yet, but New Jersey Jewish News released an [article](https://njjewishnews.timesofisrael.com/renovating-bnai-jeshurun/) that shows the new furnishings. I'm so grateful to be able to end this story on a happy note since the building was definitely facing an uncertain future. Thankfully now the building will go on to serve the city for decades more.

Amboy Cinemas

There are a handful of abandoned buildings in New Jersey history that could be considered "iconic". Your mind might jump to the old Pabst brewery with its rusty, bottle shaped water tower. Maybe your first thought is the Hydro Proof warehouse off the turnpike prominently featured in the Sopranos introduction. Among these old subjective eyesores would have to be the old Amboy Cinemas building right off the Garden State Parkway.

The land between the Parkway and Rt. 35 was once a very large drive in theater which opened in 1957. One may think they would have cleverly hidden the screen so nobody got distracted but that is not the case. The large screen was directly visible to motorists for quite a long span.

 

Before long the business began to decline, and like many other theaters the drive in apparently began showing adult films. Local legend has it that this would cause massive traffic delays, since there was never a wall obstructed to keep the folks on the highway from watching. This has been substantiated by former emplyees whose comments can be found in the Cinema Treasures article. Allegedly they were ordered to stop screening porn, and the drive in closed in 1979.

 

After a few short months the large screen was demolished a 10 screen theater opened up on the land adjacent to where the old projection house was. Between 1981 and 1985 the theater underwent several additions, eventually hosting 14 different auditoriums. 

The theater went on to show movies for another 20 years. I even attneded the theater myself in 2004 to see the SpongeBob SquarePants movie, although unfortunately I cant really remember much about the experience. 

Unfortunately the building was condemned just a few months later on May 28th, 2005 due to a sinkhole forming under the lobby. Even though the building was closed with no chance of re-use, it wasn't demolished. For more than a 15 years nearly 300,000 motorists passed by the deteriorating structure every single day, watching it rot away from the Driscoll Bridge. It always struck me as a strange juxtaposition; the small inferior theater building next to the widest motor vehicle bridge in the world. 

Despite the mild curiosity I never really took the time to figure out how to access the building. However after years of knocking better theaters off my "want to see" list I eventually formulated a plan to visit. I parked my car on a quiet Perth Amboy street, grabbed my bag, and headed towards the Victory Bridge. For whatever reason when they replaced the Victory Bridge in 2004 they decided to include a sidewalk on the side that leads exclusively to the movie theater parking lot. maybe they thought it would help bring business to the ailing theater, though it clearly didn't help. It was super convenient for me though, as I made it to the parking lot just as the sun began to rise. 

 The cinema was suprisingly intact inside. Each auditorium still had its seating, which I did not remember being green when I visited nearly two decades before. I got a kick out of the movies that were displayed on the interior marquis, some of which I don't even remember. After poking around several of the nearly identical auditoriums I set off to find the projection rooms. 

I was excited to find that all of the equipment was lined up in a single room. Despite being gutted of everything but their cases, it was very neat to see so many machines together. 

After about an hour I headed out before traffic got too bad. I'm very glad I visited when I did though. Demolition finally started on the rotting building that had stood for so long in July of 2023. By the end of the month, the lot was clear.

It will be weird driving over the Driscoll Bridge and not seeing Amboy Cinemas anymore. It goes on to join the long list of landmarks from my childhood demolished and built over.