Journal Square

File:JournalSquare.jpg.]]

Image:26JournalSquare.JPG at 26 Journal Square was the city's first skyscraper.]]

Prior to its development as a commercial district Journal Square was the site of many farmhouses and manors belonging to descendants of the original settlers of Bergen, the first chartered municipality in the state settled in 1660 and located just south at Bergen Square. In conjunction with the 1912 opening of the Hudson and Manhattan Railroad Summit Avenue station many of those properties were demolished to make way for modern buildings, including the still standing Labor Bank Building and the Public Service building. The Newkirk House[http://www.jclandmarks.com/newkirkhouse.shtml Newkirk House] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131004222428/http://jclandmarks.com/newkirkhouse.shtml |date=October 4, 2013 }} and Van Wagenen House remain, while the still-intact Sip Manor was moved to Westfield, New Jersey.{{cite web |url=http://www.njcu.edu/programs/jchistory/Pages/S_Pages/Sip_Manor_House.htm |title=Sip Manor House |publisher=Njcu.edu |access-date=November 1, 2008 |archive-date=December 29, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081229105231/http://www.njcu.edu/programs/jchistory/Pages/S_Pages/Sip_Manor_House.htm |url-status=live }} The square was created in 1923 when the city condemned and demolished the offices of the Jersey Journal, thus creating a broad intersection with Hudson Boulevard which itself had been widened in 1908. The newspaper built new headquarters and the new square was named in its honor.{{cite book |last=Grundy

|first=J. Owen|title=The History of Jersey City (1609 - 1976)|year=1975|publisher=Walter E. Knight; Progress Printing Company

|location=Jersey City|chapter="I am the law.." |page=53}}

File:Blvd Bridge west arch jeh.jpg

The bridge carrying the boulevard was designed by consulting engineer Abraham Burton Cohen and completed in 1926.Cohen, A. Burton. "Hudson County Boulevard Bridge Plaza." Purdue Engineering Review 21, No. 4 (May 1926): 3-6, 22. For most of the twentieth century Journal Square was the cultural entertainment center of Hudson County,[https://web.archive.org/web/20160303180127/http://www.canonmagazine.org/.../friedman.html Eric M. Friedman, Journal Square and the Old Loew's Theatre: Grassroots Resistance in a City Center, Canon Magazine, 2009] home to the movie palaces built in the 1920s: The State (1922, and since demolished),{{cite web|url=http://www.cinematreasures.org/theater/1630/|title=State Theater|work=cinematreasures.org|access-date=November 8, 2009|archive-date=July 28, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090728053913/http://cinematreasures.org/theater/1630/|url-status=live}} the Stanley Theater (1928),[http://www.njcu.edu/.../Pages/.../Stanley_Theater.htm Stanely Theater] and the Loew's Jersey Theater (1929).[http://www.njcu.edu/Programs/.../L.../Loews_Jersey_Theater.htm Loew's Jersey] Karen Angel of The New York Daily News described Journal Square from the 1920s to the 1960s as a "crown jewel, a glowing commercial, entertainment and transportation hub of the city."Angel, Karen. "Journal Squared: A Jersey City neighborhood's housing multiplies." The New York Daily News. Friday November 13, 2009. [http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/your_neighborhood/2009/11/13/2009-11-13_journal_squared_a_.html 1] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091115143551/http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/your_neighborhood/2009/11/13/2009-11-13_journal_squared_a_.html |date=November 15, 2009 }}. Retrieved on November 13, 2009. The "Jersey Bounce", a hit song in the 1940s mentions Journal Square in its lyrics as the place where it got started. Two days before Election Day in 1960 John F. Kennedy made his last campaign speech at Journal Square, before returning to New England.{{cite web|url=http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=25666|title=John F. Kennedy: Remarks of Senator John F. Kennedy, Journal Square, Jersey City, NJ|work=ucsb.edu|access-date=November 9, 2009|archive-date=November 22, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081122082451/http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=25666|url-status=live}} Hudson Boulevard was named Kennedy Boulevard soon after his assassination. The Tube Bar, so-called for the Hudson Tubes (as the fore-runner of the PATH system was called) was made famous by Louis "Red" Deutsch getting prank calls there.[https://books.google.com/books?id=J6TxcT7N9RgC&dq=tube%2Bbar%2Btapes&pg=PA110 Weird NJ Vol. 2 Tube Bar Interview] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240107152039/https://books.google.com/books?id=J6TxcT7N9RgC&dq=tube%2Bbar%2Btapes&pg=PA110#v=onepage&q=tube%2Bbar%2Btapes&f=false |date=January 7, 2024 }} Accessed May 12, 2009.

Image:Journal Sq dusk jeh.JPG

Image:India Square JC jeh.JPG on Newark Avenue]]

The Journal Square Transportation Center, opened between 1973 and 1975,[https://archive.today/20110612022048/http://www.panynj.gov/bus.../jstc-history.html JSQ Trans Ctr history] includes the Journal Square PATH and bus station,{{cite web|url=http://www.panynj.gov/bus-terminals/journal-square-transportation-center.html|title=Journal Square Transportation Center - The Port Authority of NY & NJ|work=panynj.gov|access-date=October 8, 2009|archive-date=October 9, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091009005557/http://www.panynj.gov/bus-terminals/journal-square-transportation-center.html|url-status=live}} and is the headquarters of PATH. It is built on an elevated bridge structure above the Bergen Hill Cut, an 1834 railroad cut once used by Pennsylvania Railroad main line and Jersey City Branch and now by the PATH rapid transit system and an occasional freight train. In front of the station is a statue of Jackie Robinson who in 1946 crossed the baseball color line at Roosevelt Stadium.{{Cite web |url=http://www.njcu.edu/programs/jchistory/Pages/R_Pages/Roosevelt_Stadium.htm |title=Roosevelt Stadium |access-date=May 22, 2009 |archive-date=December 25, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101225003447/http://www.njcu.edu/programs/jchistory/Pages/R_Pages/Roosevelt_Stadium.htm |url-status=live }}

A statue of Christopher Columbus, the work of Jersey City native Archimedes Giacomontonio, has been located on the square since 1950.[http://www.njcu.edu/.../Columbus_Christopher_Statue.htm Columbus Statue] The Stanley and the Loew's have both been restored, the first now an Assembly Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses, the latter used as a moviehouse and for other cultural events.

The campus of Hudson County Community College is a collection of buildings throughout the district around the square.{{cite web|url=http://www.hccc.edu/|title=Hudson County Community College|work=hccc.edu|access-date=September 30, 2009|archive-date=September 8, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090908001605/http://hccc.edu/|url-status=live}} A few blocks to the south near McGinley Square, are Saint Peter's University, Hudson Catholic Regional High School, and the Jersey City Armory. A concentration of Overseas Filipino and Indian American-operated shopscan be found along Newark Avenue and at India Square.[http://www.thenewjournalsquare.com/html/press/indiasquare.htm "India Square"] accessed November 7, 2009 {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131015155533/http://www.thenewjournalsquare.com/html/press/indiasquare.htm |date=October 15, 2013 }} can be found along Newark Avenue and near India Square to the north.

Northeast of Journal Square is Five Corners, the county seat of Hudson County. The Hudson County Courthouse, located at 583 Newark Avenue {{coord|40|43|55|N|74|3|25|W|name=Hudson County Courthouse}}, and the adjacent Hudson County Administration Building, at 595 Newark Avenue, are home to the county's courts and a number of county agencies and departments. The Five Corners Branch of the Jersey City Public Library is sited on the intersection itself, while William L. Dickinson High School is located nearby at 2 Palisade Avenue.

File:Journal Square Jersey City November 2021 004.jpg

Many of the buildings in Journal Square include housing stock (such as brownstones, pre-war apartment buildings, and Frame houses), convenience stores, bodegas, and downscale franchises, that Jerremiah Healy, Mayor of Jersey City, has referred to as "ugly old eyesores." The redevelopment of Journal Square has attracted the interest of urban planners, architects, sociologists, and others, many who view its historical, current, and future use as an important indicator of the contemporary understanding of how cities function.{{Cite web |url=http://www.jerseycitymuseum.org/exhib_dtl.cfm?exhibid=64 |title=JC Museum: (Re)Centering: New Visions for Journal Square |access-date=November 9, 2009 |archive-date=December 31, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151231171434/http://www.jerseycitymuseum.org/exhib_dtl.cfm?exhibid=64 |url-status=live }}[http://www.thenewjournalsquare.com/.../JS_Redevelopment_Plans.html JSQ Redevelopment Plans]{{dead link|date=December 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}{{cite web |url=http://thejcra.org/jcra_files/File/development_projects/journal_square/Redevelopment_Plan_submitted_to_City_Council_after_caucuspdf.pdf |title=Redevelop Journal Square City Center |access-date=November 18, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110728094658/http://thejcra.org/jcra_files/File/development_projects/journal_square/Redevelopment_Plan_submitted_to_City_Council_after_caucuspdf.pdf |archive-date=July 28, 2011 }}{{Cite report |title=Journal Square 2060 |publisher=Jersey City Planning Department |url=https://www.scribd.com/doc/34274347/Draft-Journal-Square-2060-Redevelopment-Pla |access-date=May 15, 2011 |archive-date=January 7, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240107152041/https://www.scribd.com/document/34274347/Draft-Journal-Square-2060-Redevelopment-Plan |url-status=live }}

A proposed development by Kushner Real Estate Group and National Real Estate Advisors, Journal Squared, is planned as a 2.3 million square foot, 3-tower residential complex. The first phase, a 53-story tower, opened in early 2017.{{Cite web|url=http://www.yimbynews.com/2017/03/ribbon-cut-for-first-tower-of-journal-squared-in-jersey-city.html|title=Ribbon Cut for First Tower of Journal Squared in Jersey City – New York YIMBY|website=www.yimbynews.com|language=en-US|access-date=March 21, 2017|archive-date=March 22, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170322015513/http://www.yimbynews.com/2017/03/ribbon-cut-for-first-tower-of-journal-squared-in-jersey-city.html|url-status=dead}} It sits directly adjacent to the Journal Square PATH station as a continuation of the dense transit-oriented development that has arisen further to the east in Jersey City. The towers were designed by Hollwich Kushner and Handel Architects.

As of 2008, there were proposals to build a complex called 1 Journal Square which would combine rental housing, multi-story retail, and parking. Plans for the mixed-use development call for 68-story and 50-story residential towers above a 7-story retail and parking base with a rooftop terrace.{{Cite news |last=Hack |first=Charles |title=It's All Up from Here |newspaper=The Jersey Journal |date=April 8, 2009 |url=http://www.nj.com/news/jjournal/jerseycity/index.ssf?/base/news-8/1239171942113660.xml |access-date=December 11, 2014 |archive-date=December 20, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141220054337/http://www.nj.com/news/jjournal/jerseycity/index.ssf?/base/news-8/1239171942113660.xml |url-status=live }}{{cite web|url=http://www.thenewjournalsquare.com/|title=The New Journal Square|work=thenewjournalsquare.com|access-date=September 30, 2009|archive-date=August 15, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090815035925/http://www.thenewjournalsquare.com/|url-status=live}} While the site has been cleared, construction has not begun.{{Cite news |last=Hayes |first=Melissa |title=Jersey City Planning Board approves Journal Square 2060 Redevelopment Plan |newspaper=The Jersey Journal |date=July 27, 2010 |url=http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/2010/07/jersey_city_planning_board_app.html |access-date=December 11, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151028123950/http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/2010/07/jersey_city_planning_board_app.html|archive-date=October 28, 2015|url-status=live}} Deadlines to begin construction by 2011 were not met by the developer, Multi-Employer Property Trust.{{Cite news |last=McDonald |first=Terrence T. |title=Jersey City Signals It Wants Developer of Massive Journal Square Project to Act, or Face Default |newspaper=The Jersey Journal |date=March 10, 2012 |url=http://www.nj.com/jjournal-news/index.ssf/2012/03/jersey_city_signals_it_wants_d.html |access-date=December 11, 2014 |archive-date=December 20, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141220054345/http://www.nj.com/jjournal-news/index.ssf/2012/03/jersey_city_signals_it_wants_d.html |url-status=live }}

In October 2011, MEPT purchased Newport Tower on the Hudson waterfront for $377 million, a record price for an office real estate transaction in the state.{{Cite web |last=Edward |first=Daniel |url=http://www.commercialobserver.com/2011/10/new-jerseys-biggest-tower-sale-ever/ |title=New Jersey's Biggest Tower Sale… Ever! |publisher=Commercial Observer |date=October 19, 2011 |access-date=April 24, 2014 |archive-date=April 24, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140424234306/http://commercialobserver.com/2011/10/new-jerseys-biggest-tower-sale-ever/ |url-status=live }} A further extension to 2013 requested by MEPTA was not granted by the Jersey City Redevelopment Agency.{{Cite news |last=McDonald |first=Terrence T. |title=Developer Threatens to Sue Jersey City Agency over Comments Made to The Jersey Journal |newspaper=The Jersey Journal |date=April 26, 2014 |url=http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/2012/04/journal_square_developer_threa.html |access-date=December 11, 2014 |archive-date=December 20, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141220054340/http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/2012/04/journal_square_developer_threa.html |url-status=live }}

Jersey City is one of nine municipalities in New Jersey designated as eligible for Urban Transit Hub Tax Credits by the state's Economic Development Authority.[https://www.njeda.com/urban-transit-hub-tax-credit-program/ Urban Transit Hub Tax Credit Program] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230424172720/https://www.njeda.com/urban-transit-hub-tax-credit-program/ |date=April 24, 2023 }}, New Jersey Economic Development Authority. Accessed April 24, 2023. "Urban Transit Hubs are located within ½ mile of New Jersey Transit, PATH, PATCO, or light rail stations in Camden (expanded to one mile), East Orange, Elizabeth, Hoboken, Jersey City, Newark, New Brunswick, Paterson, and Trenton." Developers who invest a minimum of $50 million within {{Convert|0.5|mi}} of a train station are eligible for pro-rated tax credit.{{Cite web |title=Urban Transit Hub Tax Credits |work=Financing Programs |publisher=New Jersey Economic Development Authority |url=http://www.njeda.com/web/Aspx_pg/Templates/Npic_Text.aspx?Doc_Id=888&menuid=1295&topid=718&levelid=6&midid=1175 |access-date=December 28, 2013 |archive-date=April 14, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120414152339/http://www.njeda.com/web/Aspx_pg/Templates/Npic_Text.aspx?Doc_Id=888&menuid=1295&topid=718&levelid=6&midid=1175 |url-status=dead }}{{Cite web |title=NEW JERSEY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY Urban Transit Hub Tax Credit Program Approved Projects |work=Urban Transit Hub Tax Credits |publisher=New Jersey Economic Development Authority |date=December 3, 2013 |url=http://www.njeda.com/web/pdf/HUB_Activity.pdf |access-date=December 28, 2013 |archive-date=December 30, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131230233614/http://www.njeda.com/web/pdf/HUB_Activity.pdf |url-status=dead }}

In 2012, the city adopted a variance for a development proposal to build a 42-story residential tower and adjacent garage on the south and east sides of the Newkirk House.{{Cite news|url=http://www.jerseycityindependent.com/2012/11/29/49269/ |title=Featured News » City Settles Lawsuit with Robinhood Plaza, Permits 42-Story Zoning for Property Along Summit Ave |publisher=The Jersey City Independent |date=November 29, 2012 |access-date=December 31, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20121129205325/http://www.jerseycityindependent.com/2012/11/29/49269/ |archive-date=November 29, 2012 }}{{Cite news |last=McDonald |first=Terrence T. |title=42-story Residential Tower on Tap for Jersey City |newspaper=The Jersey Journal |date=July 23, 2012 |url=http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/2012/07/42-story_residential_tower_is.html |access-date=May 20, 2013 |archive-date=December 17, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131217223649/http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/2012/07/42-story_residential_tower_is.html |url-status=live }} A 13-story residential building is proposed for a parking platform adjacent to and overlooking the PATH tracks originally developed in 1984.{{Cite web |last=Ziegler |first=Nicholass |title=$78M Journal Square Building in Jersey Sold to Israeli Investors |publisher=Commercial Executive |date=August 18, 2011 |url=http://www.cpexecutive.com/regions/northeast/78m-journal-square-building-in-jersey-sold-to-israeli-investors/ |access-date=December 29, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131230233452/http://www.cpexecutive.com/regions/northeast/78m-journal-square-building-in-jersey-sold-to-israeli-investors/ |archive-date=December 30, 2013 |url-status=dead }}{{Cite news |last=McDonald |first=Terrence T. |title=13-story Luxury Rental Tower Planned for Journal Square Gets $19.2 Million Tax Break |publisher=The Jersey Journal |date=December 23, 2013 |url=http://www.nj.com/jjournal-news/index.ssf/2013/12/13-story_luxury_rental_tower_p.html |access-date=December 29, 2013 |archive-date=December 31, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131231003111/http://www.nj.com/jjournal-news/index.ssf/2013/12/13-story_luxury_rental_tower_p.html |url-status=live }}

In December 2012 the Jersey Journal sold its building and relocated to Harmon Plaza in nearby Secaucus;{{cite news |last=McDonald |first=Terrence T. |title=The Jersey Journal finalizing sale of its Journal Square offices in Jersey City |newspaper=The Jersey Journal |date=December 5, 2012 |url=http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/2012/12/the_jersey_journal_finalizing.html |access-date=December 11, 2014 |archive-date=December 20, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141220055906/http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/2012/12/the_jersey_journal_finalizing.html |url-status=live }} however, a large sign with the paper's name was still in place atop the building in the square as of June 2015.{{Cite web |url=https://www.google.com/maps/@40.7313846,-74.064117,3a,75y,182.08h,90.38t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sueCpC5n1MjeAo-xv_El4Cw!2e0!7i13312!8i6656!6m1!1e1 |title=Google Street View shot, dated June 2015, of Journal Square, Jersey City, with "Jersey Journal" signage atop a building (near the center of the photo) |access-date=January 2, 2016 |archive-date=February 5, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160205051557/https://www.google.com/maps/@40.7313846,-74.064117,3a,75y,182.08h,90.38t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sueCpC5n1MjeAo-xv_El4Cw!2e0!7i13312!8i6656!6m1!1e1 |url-status=live }}

Other mixed-use projects are planned throughout the district.{{Cite web|url=https://www.nj.com/hudson/2022/02/the-journal-square-transformation-is-looking-up-way-up.html|title=The Journal Square transformation is looking up -- way up|date=February 10, 2022|access-date=February 15, 2022|archive-date=February 15, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220215182137/https://www.nj.com/hudson/2022/02/the-journal-square-transformation-is-looking-up-way-up.html|url-status=live}}

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Hudson County, New Jersey
• New Jersey Transit Bus Operations
• List of neighborhoods in Jersey City, New Jersey

{{reflist|colwidth=30em}}

{{Commons category|Journal Square}}

• [http://www.thenewjournalsquare.com/ The New Journal Square website]
• {{usurped|1=[https://archive.today/20130221181422/http://www.hudsoncity.net/tubesenglish/journalsquareproposed.jpg Summit Avenue Station photo]}}
• {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20031004111144/http://www.hudsoncity.net/tubesenglish/jsqtubesexterior1912postcardbook800.jpg Summit Avenue Station (1912)]}}
• {{usurped|1=[https://archive.today/20130221151456/http://www.hudsoncity.net/tubesenglish/jsq-at-opening-unknown-provenance-5168-800.jpg station opening]}}
• {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20021011032202/http://hudsoncity.net/tubesenglish/journalsqinstantfixed.jpg JSQ Journal Square Hudson Tube Station]}}
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20110728094658/http://thejcra.org/jcra_files/File/development_projects/journal_square/Redevelopment_Plan_submitted_to_City_Council_after_caucuspdf.pdf Jersey City Redevelopment Plan submitted to City Council]

{{Jersey City Neighborhoods}}

{{NYC surface transit}}

Category:Neighborhoods in Jersey City, New Jersey

Category:Central business districts in the United States

Category:Streets in Hudson County, New Jersey

Category:Transportation in Jersey City, New Jersey

Category:Squares in Jersey City, New Jersey

Category:1923 establishments in New Jersey

Category:Road junctions in the United States