The Hudson County Park System owns and operates several county parks in Hudson County, New Jersey. It has its roots in the City Beautiful movement around the turn of the twentieth century.[1] The system comprises eight parks[2][3] (the extension of one which includes a golf course) comprising 716.52 acres (290.0 ha).[4] Additionally, the county owns acreage in preservation areas in the New Jersey Meadowlands[5]
History
Flag of Hudson County, New Jersey
The City Beautiful movement at the turn of the twentieth century was conceived to revitalize industrialized urban communities and to provide them with public space for recreational activities.[6]
The concept of a county park system began in the 1880s.[7] The Hudson County Park Commission was created in 1892 to plan a park and boulevard system like those provided in other cities such as Boston and Newark. (There had been discussions of building a county long road as early as the 1870s.[8]) The first feature the commission initiated was a boulevard that would connect the future parks called Hudson Boulevard (renamed John F. Kennedy Boulevard in the 1960s). It was constructed from 1892 to 1897, under Chief Engineer Edlow W. Harrison, in some places incorporating existing roads and became the county's principal north-south corridor. From Bayonne it wound north 14 miles to the Bergen County line. It was finished a few years later when it turned east in a loop 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. In 1908 the State of New Jersey reconstructed the road to "improve and beautify it".[9]
In 1908, the Commission was sued by Philip Daab (Daab v. Hudson County Park Commission) due to a land dispute.[10]
The architects Daniel W. Langton and Charles N. Lowrie were active in the City Beautiful movement of architecture and were founding members of the American Society of Landscape Architects. Lowrie succeeded Langton as Landscape Architect for the Hudson County Park Commission, a position he held for thirty years.[6]
James J. Braddock—North Hudson Park
Woodcliff Lake
The park is in North Hudson (40°47′58″N73°59′46″W / 40.7995°N 73.9962°W / 40.7995; -73.9962); the collection of municipalities in the northern part of the county; specifically the Woodcliff Section of North Bergen.[11] Its name refers to its location and to honor of James J. Braddock, World Heavy Weight Boxing Champion from 1935 to 1937 and inducted in hall of fame in 2001.[12] who was a lifelong resident of North Bergen.[13] It is also known colloquially as “80th Street Park” or “El Parque de La Ochenta”. It is roughly bounded by 79th Street to the south, Bergenline Avenue on the west, and Boulevard East to the east and north. The park was created in 1910 and encompasses an area of 167 acres (67.6 ha).[14][15][16] including Woodcliff Lake, the 16 acres (6.5 ha) body of water that is the largest lake in the county.[14] The North Hudson Park UFO sightings occurred on January 12, 1975.[17] The presence of a North Bergen temporary school building has led to controversy and referendums.[18]
Lincoln Park West comprises 123 acres.[3] The Skyway Golf Course is the only public golf facility in the county.[26] The nine-hole course is along the Hackensack River west of U.S. Route 1/9 Truck between Communipaw and Duncan Avenues. The 55 acres (22.3 ha) course was created on a larger site and raised the about 1.2 million cubic yards of soil to an average 25 feet with hills as high as 45 feet.[27][28] It opened in June 2015.[29] Its name is inspired by the Pulaski Skyway. A connection to Skyway Park is planned.
^A. G. Lichtenstein & Associates, Inc. for NJDOT and FHWA (2001). "Historic Bridge Survey (1991–1994)". New Jersey Department of Transportation. Retrieved 3 July 2018.