Monday, December 31, 2012

The Woman's Club

In 1906 a new building for the "Woman's Club" was built on the NW corner of Prospect Street and William Street as seen in the photos below.







Below: the new "Women's Club of Orange" building as drawn on a 1911 Sanborn map; the new building was on the Northwest corner of Prospect Street and William Street diagonally across from the house shown at the top .



Thursday, December 20, 2012

Seabury and Johnson

In 1874, Robert W. Johnson and George J. Seabury, working in East Orange, developed a medicated adhesive plaster with a rubber base. The business was in Doddtown only 500 feet from Franklin School and was listed as on Glenwood Avenue (although the building with the tower appears to front on Franklin Street), between Glenwood Place and Franklin Street. 









Below: 1895 Sanborn insurance map


Below 1911 Sanborn insurance map (note that Sanborn was unable to provide details of the 1911 interior because access to the property was refused)  


Below: from postcard postmarked 1906

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Masonic Temple and Ormont Theater

Above: circa 1910

The Masonic Temple opened in 1910 at 506/508 Main Street between Prospect Street and Ashland Avenue, diagonally across from the Halsted Street/Main Street intersection; it was also the known as The Lyceum (a lyceum is a public hall designed for lectures or concerts) in addition to housing the Masonic Hope Lodge and other Masonic lodges. The Lyceum became a movie theater by about May 6, 1916.



Below: circa 1918

In a 1932 city directory the building is still referred to as The Lyceum (under "moving pictures"), but became The Ormont Movie Theater at the end of 1931.  Around that time, a new entrance building was added between the original building and the Main Street sidewalk along with an Ormont Theater marquee. 

Below: circa 1930's




Although the building wasn't constructed until about 1910, announcements of it started appearing in 1902.




Below: From the 1937/38 film almanac




Below: 1949

Below: 1957 ad from Bloomfield newspaper



Below: 1959


Above: 1979 photo courtesy of Bobby Cole



Doddtown in East Orange

Above: looking west on Dodd Street across the Dodd/Prospect intersection

Below: the NW corner of the Dodd/Prospect intersection on a 1911 Sanborn insurance map


Below: looking north across the Dodd/Prospect intersection


Above and below (1930): The East Orange Station on the Erie RR was near the intersection of Dodd St and Prospect St



Below: Brighton Avenue station of the Erie RR (1930 photo)





                Above: looking west on Dodd St across its intersection with North Park St


Below: Postcard postmarked 1908. The photo is looking north along North Park Street from the NE corner of North Park and Dodd.


Above: looking west along Dodd Street where Franklin Avenue (now named Cleveland Terrace) and Fulton Avenue (now, Colonial Terrace) meet Dodd Street; Franklin School would be to photographer's left

Below: the above intersection on a 1911 map




Below: looking east toward Brighton Avenue bridge over 2nd River; Orange branch of Erie Railroad runs alongside river on left; Saint Paul's Church, later known as Holy Name Catholic Church is on right; postcard says"Hamburg Avenue" instead of Brighton, but no mention of a Hamburg Avenue can be seen on maps going back as far as 1895.


Below: the brick building is the public library; the southern end of Watsessing Park is out of view to the right




Below: Ferry Methodist Episcopal Church at the NW corner of  Dodd Street and Cottage Place