Droyer's Point is a section ofJersey City, New Jersey, atNewark Bay that was the site of the Jersey City Airport and later ofRoosevelt Stadium, both of which were demolished. It has become a residential and commercial district.
In the southwestern part of the city,Droyer's Point is located on the Newark Bay. Its eastern perimeter isNew Jersey Route 440. The point is entered from the highway's intersection withDanforth Avenue. To the north, Kellog Street creates its boundary with thebrownfield and site ofBayfront,[1] a planned urban development project. The point itself is oppositeKearny Point, with which it marks the mouth of theHackensack River.[2][3]
Since the 1990s Droyer's Point has been developed as a residential and recreation area. At its southern end is the Athletic Complex ofNew Jersey City University – its other locations are further inland on theWest Side.[4] Just to the north are the residentialcommunities built byHovnanian Enterprises. Construction was delayed until there was remediation ofchromium found at the site.[5] Known as Society Hill, the first phase of townhomes were built c1993-94, with phase two being constructed c1995-96.[6][7] The Droyer's Point townhouses were built c2003-04.[8] The complex includes condominium and rental townhomes and apartments, including amenities such as pools, tennis courts, clubhouses and a marina. Completed portions of theHackensack RiverWalk, a public waterfront promenade which is accessible to the public through entrances outside the development, run along the shoreline.
Originally atidal marsh, the area was the territory of theHackensack andRaritan at the time of European contact in the 17th century. They called the area onMinkakwa, meaninga place of good crossing. This is likely so because it was the most convenient pass between two bays (the other being theUpper New York Bay) on either side of theBergen Neck peninsula and near a natural break inBergen Hill, the formation that rises to become theHudson Palisades. Interpreted asplace where the coves meet, in this case where they are closest to each, it describes a spot advantageous forportage. Just inland of Droyer's Point the construction of theMorris Canal in the 1830s took advantage of the geology to cut acrossPamrapo. The canal then ran parallel to the bay before connecting to the river at a location further to the north.[9][10] A filled portion of the landmark can still be seen as an unmarkedright of way in the nearbyCountry Village neighborhood.
In the 1920s the land which was owned by the city became the object of development which includedland reclamation and the construction ofbulkhead, with the intention of expanding the city's port facilities south of theCRRNJNewark and New York Branch (which traveled fromDowntown Newark across the river andBergen Hill toCommunipaw Terminal). While the planned distribution facilities never materialized, the area did become the site of the short livedJersey City Airport, which opened in 1927.[11]For a short time the airport was operated byEddie August Schneider, a native of the city and one of early aviation's youthful celebrities.[12][13] After the end of World War Two, Jersey Skyports was founded by three former Naval aviators, Edward Selig Binder, John Barteluse, and Bill Christie, and operated for five years. The Jersey City Seaplane Base which was owned by Harry Frank, was later located nearby.[14]
TheArt Deco style Roosevelt Stadium wasWorks Progress Administration project secured byJersey City MayorFrank Hague,[12] as was theJersey City Medical Center. It was named for PresidentFranklin D. Roosevelt, the author of thatNew Deal agency. Groundbreaking took place in 1935.[15] Thebaseballpark's opening was scheduled for April 22, 1937 with the opening of the 1937International League season. Mayor Hague declared a half-holiday for the city's schools and employees. New York Giants ownerHorace Stoneham was expected at the opener along with SenatorA. Harry Moore.[16] Rain washed out the planned events and the opening was postponed until April 23 with Mayor Hague throwing out the first pitch and Sen. Moore and owner Horace Stoneham on hand for the ballpark's dedication.[17]
The stadium was also the home field of theJersey City Giants, and was used for seven "home" games by theBrooklyn Dodgers during their last couple of seasons in Brooklyn, 1956 and 1957. On April 18, 1946, Roosevelt Stadium hosted the Jersey City Giants' season opener against theMontreal Royals, marking the professional debut of the Royals'Jackie Robinson. The stadium also hostedboxing bouts including fight withMax Baer,"Two Ton" Tony Galento,Marcel Cerdan andTony Zale. In 1950,Sugar Ray Robinson defended his welterweight title; in 1951,Jersey Joe Walcott beat heavyweight championEzzard Charles. During the 1970s the stadium was used every summer as a major concert venue with performances by theGrateful Dead,Allman Brothers Band,Beach Boys,Eric Clapton,Tony Bennett, andCrosby, Stills, Nash and Young, among others. In November 1982, the Jersey City Council voted to demolish the stadium.[18] It was demolished in 1985.[19][20]
The district is served byNew Jersey Transit buses with service toJournal Square viaWest Side Avenue. There is discussion to extend theHudson Bergen Light Rail from the currentWest Side Avenue (HBLR station) terminus to a location near the waterfront, but there is no projected date for the project. TheDanforth Avenue Station is located about a mile to the east.[21] Direct commuter bus service toManhattan is provided by privately operated NYC Commuter.[22]
Bridges of theNewark Bay | |
|---|---|
Mayor Frank Hague of Jersey City announced yesterday he had been informed that the Works Progress Administration had approved the city's application for an $800,000 grant to build a municipal sports stadium.
Two aviators escaped with only minor bruises and a thorough wetting last night when their three-seat, open-cockpit biplane developed motor trouble soon after taking off from the Jersey City Airport and fell into Newark Bay 200 feet off Droyer's Point, Jersey City. The men were rescued by police, who went to their aid in a collapsible rowboat kept at the field. ... The plane [had] taken off at 7 pm [piloted] by Edward Schneider, 23 years old, of 209 Sip Avenue, Jersey City, former holder of the junior transcontinental plane record and manager of the airport since January 1, 1935.
| Bergen-Lafayette |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Downtown | ||
| Greenville | ||
| The Heights | ||
| Journal Square | ||
| Meadowlands | ||
| Upper New York Bay | ||
| West Side | ||
| Historical | ||
40°42′36″N74°6′20″W / 40.71000°N 74.10556°W /40.71000; -74.10556
