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Health & Fitness

From the Archives: Fort Lee's Path through History

Palisades Amusement Park comes alive this weekend with a centennial celebration of the pool opening as well as a historic jitney ride in Fort Lee.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo last year unveiled New York’s “Path Through History” plan to support tourism and economic development and to highlight New York State’s historic past. We applaud Governor Cuomo for his leadership and acknowledgement of the importance of history not only for history’s sake but also as an engine to economic development and state tourism. 

Here in New Jersey, Wayne Hasenbalg, the President and CEO of the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority, is also responsible for the state Division of Travel and Tourism as well as the New Jersey Motion Picture and TV Commission. This change in the NJSEA came about via Governor Christie’s office and action by the New Jersey State Legislature. I personally know Mr. Hasenbalg and am confident that New Jersey will have a plan in place as good as New York’s “Path Through History” that will highlight our history from the Revolutionary War, through the birth of the American film industry, to the creation of America’s first vacation playground, Atlantic City.  

The creation of such a plan, connected with the New Jersey Hall of Fame and a mobile museum, will spread the word on our history and tourism with the result being a boost in tourism dollars in the state of New Jersey and a repositioning of the branding of our state, which will be beneficial to every business and resident of our state.

We here at the Fort Lee Film Commission, the Fort Lee Historical Society, the Fort Lee Historic Sites Committee and the Fort Lee Office of Cultural & Heritage Affairs have for the past decade promoted our history of Fort Lee and marketed that history to not only this borough but to the entire state and beyond via such elements as our web sites, creation of a Fort Lee Film History Map courtesy of a Bergen County History Grant, and outreach to cultural organizations and schools.  

The bedrock of our efforts has been our Fort Lee Historic Jitney Tour. 

Held twice each year, in June and October, and held throughout the year for Fort Lee schools, these tours have been a great success.  Our next tour is this coming Sunday, June 9th – tour signup is from 9 AM to 11 AM at the Fort Lee Museum (1588 Palisade Avenue) and tours will run from 11 AM to 3 PM.  This particular tour will celebrate both the history of Palisades Amusement Park and the sites associated with the park as well as film history since the park has a deep connection to that history. 

The tours, conducted by the Fort Lee Film Commission / Fort Lee Historical Society, have led to a greater awareness of our history and the promotion of that history through books, documentary films and use of our archival images by businesses such as Verizon on Lemoine Avenue near the Bridge Plaza – you can view large images from the archive of the Fort Lee Film Commission and Fort Lee Historical Society in the windows of that store.  This promotion of Fort Lee history also has led in the past to large and small scale film shoots in Fort Lee – from the Universal NBC TV show Law & Order SVU to documentary film shoots from filmmakers as local as NYC and as distant as France, Germany and Great Britain. 

These tours started when we lost the historic Barrymore House on Hammett Avenue in the Coytesville section of the borough over a decade ago.  We felt that we needed to promote out own history and that education would lead to preservation.  Thus today we are working to save the most important film site left in Fort Lee, Rambo’s Saloon.  Though the building is still before the Fort Lee Board of Adjustment for possible demolition, there is work going on behind the scenes to save Rambo’s and that work continues.  I truly believe without the past decade of work as outlined above, Rambo’s would have already been demolished.

So let’s give a sneak peak to this Sunday’s Palisades Amusement Park / Film History Jitney Tour of Fort Lee.  Some of you skeptics may wonder how we can give a tour based on an amusement park that was demolished in 1972. 

Well, like all history, if you look beyond the brambles and bushes and newer structures of Fort Lee you will find the outline of all our history. Among the sites we will pass, of course, is the site on Palisades Avenue in Fort Lee and Cliffside Park where Palisades Amusement Park sat from 1898 through the last season of its operation in 1971.  There is a monument on the site of the old park. 

Next up we will go down to Edgewater to view the location of the ferry slip that was so important not only to the park in the early days but to the film industry in Fort Lee.  Here commuters would cross the Hudson River from the 125th Ferry Slip in Manhattan and embark on a trolley which scaled the Palisades along the present day Route 5 roadway up to the park’s entrance.  As we ascend this roadway we will discuss the opening of the world’s largest outdoor saltwater pool on June 8th, 1913 at Palisades Amusement Park. The piping that brought the Hudson River water up to the park pool to be filtered and sent into the pool, that very piping is still present on the Palisades. 

We will then discuss the films shot in the park and the owners of the park from 1910-1935, Nick & Joe Schenck and their relationship with Marcus Loew and how MGM studios in Hollywood had the roots of their birth in Palisades Amusement Park.  We will then follow the old trolley route to Columbia Avenue and the Junction area of Fort Lee down Abbott Boulevard. 

The rest of the tour we will leave as a mystery since we do not want to expose our entire history bag of tricks prior to the tours.  However I will say that the tours begin and end at the Fort Lee Museum where we have the current exhibit dedicated to Palisades Amusement Park and the items on display include rare archival photos and artifacts including our newest acquisition, one of the pony carts from the Kiddieland pony cart ride at the park – this item was donated to the museum by Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich’s father-in-law who operated that ride at the park. 

You can download a flyer for this tour at www.fortleefilm.org or www.thefortleehistroricalsociety.org or www.fortleenj.org.  Remember the tour signups are from 9 AM to 11 AM on Sunday, June 9th at the Fort Lee Museum and though the trips are free seating is limited and its on a first come first serve basis thus the need to pre register between 9-11AM on Sunday.

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Also, in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the opening of the Palisades Amusement Park pool (June 8th, 1913) this Saturday, June 8th, we will have a special Palisades Amusement Park picnic on the grounds of the Fort Lee Museum from 4 PM to 7 PM – you can purchase a wristband from the Fort Lee Historical Society the day of the event to enjoy hot dogs, lemonade in a commemorative Palisades Amusement Park bottle, and the famous vinegar fries served at the park.  The wristbands cost $10 for adults, $5 for Senior Citizens and children 12 and under.  At sunset that night we will have a special outdoor screening (weather permitting) of the documentary “Palisades Amusement Park A Century of Fond Memories.”  The filmmaker and Palisades Amusement Park historian Vince Gargiulo will introduce this documentary.  In case of inclement weather both the picnic and film screening will move inside the museum.  

Also on hand from 4 pm to 7 pm Saturday at the Fort Lee Museum will be the author of the new book "Palisades Park" Alan Brennert - if you have a copy of this wonderful book bring it with you and Alan will sign your copy. Alan, though born in Edgewater, lives in California and this is a rare chance for you to get your copy signed by the author.  The book is available at bookstores.  

So this weekend, remember “Palisades has the rides, Palisades has the fun, so come on over” to the Fort Lee Museum.

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