All Souls Hospital

Source: TFPNJ Postcard Archive

The story of All Souls Hospital goes all the way back to 1891. Most infirmaries of the time were operating out of large houses as opposed to purpose built hospitals. All Souls used an old revolutionary era tavern that was moved from the center of town to the estate of Julia Keese Coles. The president of the All Souls Hospital association was a man named Paul Revere; great grandson of the legendary revolutionary. 

A nursing school began at the hospital in 1908. The old tavern building burned to the ground in 1918. The hospital decided to rebuild the facility across the street where they had more room to expand. 

Between the late 1950s and early 1960s a large new building was constructed in front of the existing hospital buildings.

Talks of closing the hospital circulated as far back as the 1960s. After ceasing operations as All Souls, the complex was reborn as the "Community Medical Center" in 1973. 

Several disused buildings at the back of the property were demolished at this time. Morristown Medical Center took ownership of the complex four years later. 

Morristown Medical operated the site as a physical rehab clinic. One of the most notable things left behind from this era was the large indoor pool.

In the Mid 1990's a disused building between the steam plant and hospital building was demolished. This would be the last major change the campus saw until it was eventually shuttered by Atlantic Health (formerly Morristown Medical) in 2019. 

The first time I really became aware of the hospital was in 2015. Protesting the demolition of the old Greystone Park Psychiatric Hospital brought me out to Morristown frequently. One day after attending a freeholders meeting we drove past the Atlantic Health complex. It wasn't closed at the time, but I made a mental note to keep an eye on the hospital as it seemed to barely have a pulse at that time. 

As many readers of this blog remember, the world was inundated with the Covid 19 pandemic by the start of the following year. New Jersey was hit especially hard with the virus, and healthcare officials were scrambling to control it. 

The state of New Jersey toured several recently closed hospitals hoping to find one to reopen to care for patients. At the same time, Atlantic Health decided to bring All Souls back to life.  

All patient rooms had special vents built into the windows to circulate fresh air. 

One of the most stark additions to the hospital center was a large refrigerated shipping container which was brought in to use as as a morgue, since the original body cooler had been removed. 

By 2021 the hospital had become redundant as the pandemic wound down. It was once again closed down for patient care. A skeleton crew stayed on site for the next few years, keeping a close eye on the shuttered buildings. Every doorway around the perimeter of the building had an object placed in front of it so the crew could see if any had been opened. They accessed the building though an underground tunnel, so any changes at the entrances would be noticed. 

It took me several tries to eventually make my way inside. I almost immediately walked into the old security center, which had every closed circuit camera feed still up.

I quickly did a run through of the first few floors, blown away by what I had seen. There was so much medical equipment left behind.

The other thing that threw me was all the covid ephemera scattered around. There were get well cards for the patients and thank you cards for the staff, all sent in by local school kids. 

There were even covid memes printed out and hung on the walls. 

I made a few more trips to the hospital over the next few years, each time getting more and more comfortable with the complex. Unfortunately the fun couldnt last forever, and demoliton plans were announced in 2025. 

Before any work began I made a special trip back to get inside the steam plant. It was really exciting to finally be able to walk through the tunnel that I had to avoid every prior trip. 

It wasn't long before heavy machinery began ripping into the historic buildings, ending a 130 year legacy of care.

I'm really grateful I was able to see the complex before it came down. It goes on to join a long list of demolished New Jersey medical centers.

New Jersey Ave School

New Jersey Avenue School was built in 1925 to replace a smaller structure. The old school was racially segregated, while the new building was meant to be integrated. It offered kindergarten all the way through eighth grade. 

The building was designed to be open to the public for concerts and various civic events. Because of this the classrooms were all on one side of the building, apart from the gym and auditorium.

The 350 seat auditorium was beautifully decorated. The stage spanned almost the entire width of the room, while chandeliers hung from the ceiling. 

The gymnasium was tucked away behind stage.

Students from New Jersey Avenue were relocated to the new school on Pennsylvania Ave in 2012. The city intended to fix up the building and put it back to use, but before that could happen superstorm Sandy came through and flooded it. 

I pulled up to the school about a decade later at the end of a long day exploring around the state. I was tired and had no idea how I was going to get inside the building. To my absolute shock the main front door had a missing window just feet from the sidewalk. 

The city police were notorious among local explorers for their swift response to alarms, so seeing the easy access set my nerves at ease. 

The city left everything inside the school when it closed, and after the flooding during Sandy everything was deemed a loss. 

Power had been left on for several more years after the closure, powering the alarms and preventing burglars from getting inside. Unfortunately once it was cut the scrappers wasted no time ripping the place apart looking for copper. 

It was announced that the school would be demolished in 2025 and replaced by a new administration building for the Board of Education. A press briefing was held outside the vacant school featuring several lovely former staff members, as well as the scandal plagued superintendent of schools La'quetta Small. 

During the early stages of the demolition process the building was accidently set on fire by one of the workers. The blaze was so severe several local news outlets reported on it, which is how I found out the school was being demolished. 

The school is now part of a growing list of historic educational facilities demolished across the state in the last decade. I'm grateful I was able to see the building and document it so it doesn't get completely forgotten to time.

First National Bank of South River

 

Source

First National Bank had established a branch in South River by the turn of the century, but the building we know was built in 1916.

The new building was crafted of buff colored brick with limestone accents. Four 30 foot tall Corinthian columns flanked the brass double doors. 

Inside the teller counters lined both walls, with marble counters and brass and glass teller windows. Two massive vault doors sat at the rear of the room, one for safety deposit boxes and one for the banks reserves. 

Several different banks ended up using the building after First National. One of them heavily dressed down the building. The brass doors were removed and replaced with cheap aluminum ones. The huge windows were replaced with a combination of small aluminum frame windows and glass block. In an effort to further reduce heating and cooling costs the original glass tray ceiling was removed and covered over from above. A drop ceiling was installed at half height, completely hiding the lovely plaster ceiling which had been punctured several times to hang the grid. 

PNC was the last bank to occupy the space, but they left at the end of 2020. Around the same time, the town started to see a huge construction boom. The building sat vacant for just a few years before a redevelopment plan was announced that called for the entire building to be leveled. 

The building was entirely demolished in October of 2025. Its the first major chunk of Main Street to be erased in decades, so its loss is immediately felt by all who pass by. 109 years of standing proudly just to to eventually end up as fill material somewhere. Such a shame. 

Grace Lutheran Church

Livingston's Grace Lutheran Church was built in the early 1960s, replacing a farmstead that stood on the same land. 

The building consisted of a small chapel with a single story schoolhouse attached to the right side. The Sanctuary was clad in a cedar clapboard painted barn red, which contrasted nicely against the large green lawn. 

In 2011 an article in the Livingston Patch described how a Spanish speaking Lutheran congregation was to began sharing the space with the existing worshippers. 

Unfortunately even with the new worshippers the church couldnt afford the maintenance and upkeep required to stay open. By 2021 the church vacated the building. The property sold quickly for $3.55 million.

The building was vacant for several years before it was eventually declared an "area in need of redevelopment". Town officials were interested in moving the nearby West Essex YMCA out of their aging building and into a new, state of the art facility. There was quite a bit of community pushback, citing increased noise and traffic concerns. Despite that the plans went ahead, and the building was demolished in 2025. 

257 Upper Mountain

257 Upper Mountain Ave was a large Colonial Revival home on an acre of land. 

The exterior of the home was wrapped in cedar clapboard and capped with a slate roof. The interior was equally simple. 

The original portion of the home was built in 1889, with a large sunroom added to the right side of the building.

The home had an unremarkable history and was redecorated several times over the next century. 

In 2021 the home was purchased for $1.25 Million. It was left vacant without a security system, so neighborhood kids started hanging out on the property. 

They smashed a bunch of windows out which eventually got boarded over. The fresh plywood caught my eye while driving past, and before long I made a trip over to try and get inside.

I only made the one trip to 257, and only shot it on my phone. By 2025 the home was entirely gutted and reborn as a new modern dwelling. 

Mater Dei School

Mater Dei was founded in 1961 as a part of St. Mary's School. 

A second school building was constructed on the property in the mid 1960s to house Mater Dei. This was actually when enrolment in private Catholic schools had reached its highest point in the US. 

After the high point of the mid 1960s, enrollment in Catholic schools began to trend downward. This was especially true in New Jersey, where catholic schools began closing in droves by the 2010s. 

In 2017 it was announced Mater Dei was being eyed for closure. Local families were outraged, demanding the archdiocese of Trenton reconsider. They ended up raising over a million dollars, which allowed them to remain open.

The reprieve from closure was only temporary. Talks of closing the school  began again, and by the end of the 2022 school year it was finally shuttered.

In 2023 the school was used as the "principal photography location" for the Mean Girls revival. For those like myself who aren't familiar with that term, its basically where a majority of the filming takes place. 

Demolition was announced and began swiftly at the end of summer 2025. Once the building is cleared the land will be re-dedicated as Mater Dei Park.