Boulevard East (officiallyJohn F. Kennedy Boulevard East, and sometimes referred to asJFK Boulevard East) is atwo-way, mostly two lane, scenic[1][2] county road[3] in the municipalities ofWeehawken,West New York,Guttenberg andNorth Bergen inNorth Hudson,New Jersey. Apart from small sections at either end, the road runs along the crest of theHudson Palisades,[4] affording it views of theHudson River and theNew York City skyline. Developed at the turn of the 20th century,[2][5] the residential road is characterized by an eclectic mix of 20th-century architecture, including private homes as well as mid and high-rise apartment buildings, mostly on its western side, with apromenade and parks along its eastern side. It is also the setting forEdward Hopper's 1934 paintingEast Wind Over Weehawken, which is considered one of his best works.
Boulevard East runs along the crest of theHudson Palisades.[4] It is so named in reference to the other major boulevard inHudson County to which it is connected,Kennedy Boulevard. Prior to being renamed in honor ofJohn F. Kennedy in the 1960s, the street was known as Hudson Boulevard.[6] While there was discussion of building a county long road as early as the 1870s,[7] parts ofHudson County Boulevard were officially opened in 1896.[7][8][9]By 1913 it was completed, and considered to be fine for "motoring".[10] Taken as a single road, the circuitous route of west and east sections of the entire boulevard runs from the southern tip of the county atBergen Point to its northern border withBergen County and south again to theHoboken city line.[11] In local nomenclature, signage, addresses, transportation, and postal delivery, the name Boulevard East is used.[12][13][14]
Much of Boulevard East runs parallel to the edge of a sheer escarpment and offers expansive views the iconographicManhattan skyline. Since 2009, whenMacy's began to launchits annual Fourth of July fireworks from theHudson River,[15] portions of the Boulevard are closed to allow spectators to view the display.[16][17][18] The Boulevard was proposed to be part of thePort Imperial Street Circuit of theGrand Prix of America.[19][20]
The southern end of the road is an important component of local access to theLincoln Tunnel, running past itsArt Decotoll plaza and passing twice under theLincoln Tunnel Helix, which carriesNew Jersey Route 495 and descends to meet it. Entering a residential district ofWeehawken the boulevard steeply ascends northward until reaching theBoulevard Curve where it curves east, then north again and begins travelling along the edge of theHudson Palisades. Just to the south of the curve is the Hamilton Memorial, relocated from theBurr–Hamilton duel site at the foot of the cliffs below Kings Bluff, named forJames Gore King whose 19th century estate, Highwood, once stood there, and is now a residential neighborhood.[citation needed]
The road then passes Hamilton Plaza where for a brief time in the 1890s stoodEl Dorado, apleasure garden offering theatrical spectacles, casinos, and exotic gardens. At Liberty Place it crosses over a now defunctcut through which once ranstreetcars operated byNorth Hudson County Railway that connected to a massive elevator and ferries atWeehawken Terminal.Pershing Road is one of the few roads which connect the waterfront to the Boulevard and the top of the cliffs, and was once part of theLincoln Highway.[21] At the southwest corner of 49th Street stands the gabled house depicted inEast Wind Over Weehawken, a 1934 painting byEdward Hopper, which is considered one of his best works.[22]
Old Glory Park is near the town line ofWest New York where of the much boulevard is abutted by parks and scenic overlooks. A statue of Thomas M. Donnelly, instrumental in the preservation of the Palisades, is located in the park named for him. Thetrap rock walls that line much of the overlook come fromquarry operations that he and the NJ Federation of Women's Clubs were able curtail at the beginning of the 20th century.[23] 60th Street, the main crosstown street for the town became Hillside Road (officially renamed for Anthony DeFino, who was mayor for 24 years[24]) connecting the boulevard toRiver Road. One of the few residential neighborhoods on the cliff side of the boulevard is found north of the major crossroad at one of its more severe curves. It is here that the road reaches a height of nearly 260 feet near the highest point inHudson County.[25] The park on 60th Street features a fountain erected in tribute to the victims of theSeptember 11 Attacks.[26]
The three block section of the boulevard inGuttenberg is dominated by theGalaxy Towers, aBrutalist trio of octagonal buildings, which rise from the foot of the palisades and soar above them. Ferry Road passes underneath the complex. TheWoodcliff Section ofNorth Bergen, once known as Hudson Heights, is characterized by a combination of family homes and modernist high-rises, notably the cylindrical Stonehenge. Near the point where the road bears west and enters North Hudson Park the originalBulls Ferry Road makes a steep descent to the east.[citation needed] It is in the park, also named for famous sonJames J. Braddock, that Boulevard East intersects withPalisades Avenue, which continues north along the cliffs, and soon after ends atBergenline inNungessers.[27]
There are numerous bridges along Boulevard East crossing over clefts in the cliffs, many approaching 100 years in age.[28] A portion of the road was closed for six months in 2013 to replace one located in North Bergen.[29][30]
   | |
|---|---|
| Boulevard East | |
 | |
| Former name(s) | Hudson County Boulevard Hudson Boulevard |
| Part of |    CR 677 /CR 505 /CR 693 |
| Namesake | Henry Hudson John F. Kennedy |
| Length | 4.7 mi (7.6 km)[31] |
| Location | North Hudson,Hudson County,New Jersey |
| Nearest metro station | Lincoln Harbor,Port Imperial (Hudson–Bergen Light Rail) |
| Coordinates | 40°47′07″N74°00′31″W / 40.785139°N 74.008627°W /40.785139; -74.008627 |
| South end | CR 677 inWeehawken |
| Major junctions |  Route 495 in Weehawken |
| North end |   Route 63 /CR 501 inNorth Bergen |
| Construction | |
| Construction start | 1896[8] |
| Completion | 1913[10] |
Boulevard East carries threecounty route designations.County Route 677[32] begins as Park Avenue in Hoboken, becoming Boulevard East after crossing the viaduct over theHudson Bergen Light Rail tracks. At Highwood Terrace in Weehawken it becomes part ofCounty Route 505. From 60th Street inWest New York it is designatedCounty Route 693[33] until joining its western counterpart, designatedCounty Route 501. In total the route is slightly more than three miles long.
Addresses ascend from the first at number 300.[34] In Weehawken the numbers rise to 1055. At the border with West New York at 51st Street, the addresses jump to 5101, following the custom of taking the building number from the lower cross street. This system was jointly adopted by theNorth Hudson towns after streets were re-numbered after the opening of theLincoln Tunnel in 1937.[citation needed]
New Jersey Transitbus routes 128, 165, 166, 168 travel along the boulevard between thePort Authority Bus Terminal and locations inBergen County. NJT 23[35] provides local service.Dollar vans, many of which originate atNungesser's, also travel along the street to42nd Street inManhattan.Pershing Road and public stairs connect the road toWeehawken Port Imperial, whereferries andlight rail are available.
The entire route is inHudson County.
| Location | mi[31] | km | Destinations | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weehawken | 0.00 | 0.00 |  CR 677 south (Park Avenue) / 19th Street –Lincoln Tunnel | CR 677 continues south | |
| 0.20 | 0.32 | Lincoln Tunnel (Route 495 east) –New York City | Southbound exit only; former I-495 | ||
| 0.60 | 0.97 |      Route 495 west toN.J. Turnpike (I-95) /Route 3 west | Interchange; former I-495 | ||
| 0.90 | 1.45 | Highwood Terrace | Route transitions from CR 677 to CR 505 | ||
| 1.60 | 2.57 | Pershing Road (CR 682 east) | Western terminus of CR 682 | ||
| West New York | 2.20 | 3.54 |  CR 505 north (Defino Way) | Route transition from CR 505 to CR 693 | |
| North Bergen | 4.60 | 7.40 | Bergenline Avenue | Nungessers | |
| 4.70 | 7.56 |  CR 501 south (Kennedy Boulevard) /Route 63 north (Bergen Boulevard / CR 501 north) | Southern terminus of Route 63 | ||
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
| |||||
![Bust of Thomas M. Donnelly, whose contributions helped save the Palisades[citation needed]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aThomasMDonnellyMonument.JPG)
In 1892 the Hudson County Park Commission was created to plan a park and boulevard system like those provided in other cities such as Boston and Newark. The first feature the commission addressed was a county-long boulevard that would connect the future parks. The drive was called Hudson Boulevard (renamed John F. Kennedy Boulevard in the 1960s), and it became the principal north-south route in the county. It was constructed 1892–1897, under Chief Engineer Edlow W. Harrison, using existing roads in some places. In the southern part of the county it was built on New Bergen Point Road, and was thus an incarnation of the old King's Highway. From Bergen Point in Bayonne it wound north 14 miles almost to the Bergen County line, where it turned east in a loop through North Hudson Park and went south again as (Hudson) Boulevard East along the top edge of the Bergen Hill cliff to end at King's Bluff in Weehawken. The Boulevard East section was finished a few years later than the rest of the route. In 1908 the State of New Jersey reconstructed the road to "improve and beautify it." Although Hudson Boulevard became an important route in the county, and did connect the new parks, it has never been (for most of its route) the sort of continuous linear park feature that the term "boulevard" implies (Hudson County Park Commission, 1908.
