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===Immigration and industry=== [[File:1.22.10UCParkTheaterEmbroideryByLuigiNovi16.jpg|thumb|left|Embroidery and lace exhibit at Union City's [[Park Performing Arts Center]]]] In the 18th century, [[Dutch people|Dutch]] and [[British people|English]] merchants first settled the area. Later, [[German people|German]] immigrants immigrated from [[Manhattan]]. [[Irish people|Irish]], [[Polish people|Polish]], [[Armenians]], [[Syrian people|Syrians]], [[Eastern European Jews]] and [[Italians]] followed.<ref name=OtherCuban>{{cite web|author=Perez-Stable, Marifeli|url=http://www.cubaverdad.net/weblog/2009/12/that-other-cuban-community/|title=That other Cuban community|newspaper=[[The Miami Herald]]|date=December 3, 2009|access-date=August 22, 2019|archive-date=August 29, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170829040223/http://www.cubaverdad.net/weblog/2009/12/that-other-cuban-community/}}</ref> In 1851, [[Germans]] moved across the [[Hudson River]] from [[New York City]] in search of affordable land and open space. During the [[American Civil War]] a military installation, Camp Yates, covered an area now bounded by [[Bergenline Avenue|Bergenline]] and Palisade Avenues from 22nd to [[Hackensack Plank Road|32nd Street]]. Germans began to settle what would become Union Hill in 1851,<ref name=UCPictures/> and some descendants of the immigrants of this period live in the city today.<ref name=350Years/> Although the area's diversity was represented by the more than 19 nationalities that made their home in the Dardanelles (a five-block area of Central Avenue from 23rd Street to 27th Street)<ref name=UCPictures/> from the mid-19th century to the early 20th century, [[German American]]s and [[Dutch people|Dutch]] dominated the area. Along with [[Switzerland|Swiss]] and [[Austria]]n immigrants, they founded the European-style [[lace]] making industries for which they were famous. The introduction of [[Schiffli lace]] [[Schiffli embroidery machine|machines]] in Hudson County<ref>[http://www.schiffli.org/history.htm "History"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719103136/http://www.schiffli.org/history.htm |date=July 19, 2011 }}. Schiffli Lace and Embroidery Manufacturers Association. Accessed February 18, 2011.</ref> made Union City the "embroidery capital of the United States". The trademark of that industry is on the Union City Seal,<ref name=Calendar/><ref name="Cunningham">{{cite book|last=Cunningham|first=John|title=This is New Jersey|edition=4|year=2004|publisher=Rutgers University Press/Hudson River Museum|location=[[Yonkers, New York]]|isbn=0-8135-2141-6|page=[https://archive.org/details/thisisnewjersey0000cunn/page/100 100]|url=https://archive.org/details/thisisnewjersey0000cunn/page/100}}</ref><ref name=PopikUnionCity>Popik, Barry. [http://www.barrypopik.com/index.php/florida/entry/little_havana_miami_little_havana_on_the_hudson_union_city_new_jersey/ "Little Havana (Miami) & Little Havana on the Hudson (Union City, New Jersey)"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110707213306/http://www.barrypopik.com/index.php/florida/entry/little_havana_miami_little_havana_on_the_hudson_union_city_new_jersey/ |date=July 7, 2011 }}. BarryPopkik.com, August 15, 2006. Accessed July 6, 2017.</ref> though foreign competition and austere prevailing fashions led to the decline of embroidery and other industries in the area by the late 1990s.<ref>{{cite web|author=Pristin, Terry|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/01/03/nyregion/in-new-jersey-a-delicate-industry-unravels.html|title=In New Jersey, a Delicate Industry Unravels|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=January 3, 1998|access-date=July 6, 2020|archive-date=November 11, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121111200151/https://www.nytimes.com/1998/01/03/nyregion/in-new-jersey-a-delicate-industry-unravels.html}}</ref> In May 2014 the city dedicated "Embroidery Square" at New York Avenue to commemorate that history.<ref>Conte, Michaelangelo. [http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/2014/05/embroidery_square_dedicated_in_union_city.html#incart_river_default "Union City dedicates plaza that honors history as 'Embroidery Capital of the World'"], ''[[The Jersey Journal]]'', May 31, 2014. Accessed October 14, 2015. "Union City named a portion of New York Avenue 'Embroidery Plaza' last night to commemorate the city's once-thriving embroidery industry."</ref> As immigration to the area progressed throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, [[Belgians]], [[Armenians]], [[Greeks]], [[Chinese people|Chinese]], [[Jewish people|Jews]] and [[Russians]] found a home in the area,<ref name=UCPictures/> though its domination by Germans by the turn of the 20th century was reflected in the fact that the minutes of town meetings were recorded in [[German language|German]].<ref>Keller, Susan Jo. [https://www.nytimes.com/1996/10/06/nyregion/at-schuetzen-park-a-bit-of-germany-and-a-tradition-of-charity.html "At Schuetzen Park, a Bit of Germany and a Tradition of Charity"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', October 6, 1996. Accessed November 14, 2019. "Around the turn of the century in Union Hill, a town later absorbed into Union City, the minutes of town meetings were written in German, a reflection of the number of German immigrants in Hudson County. Today little of that German influence remains, with the exception of Schuetzen Park, a three-acre enclave in North Bergen where polka music sometimes still sets feet tapping."</ref> By this time, the area was witnessing a period of urbanization, as an extensive [[tram|trolley]] system was developed by the [[North Hudson County Railway]], spurred by both electrification in 1890 and the arrival of [[Irish people|Irish]] and [[Italians|Italian]] immigrants, which dominated the city until the late 1960s. Successive waves of immigrants from [[Eastern Europe]], the Near East and [[Latin America]] contributed to the embroidery industry in subsequent years. "The Cultural Thread"/"El Hilo", an exhibit highlighting this industry, is on display at Union City's Park Performing Arts Center.<ref>[http://www.parkpac.org/pp_exh.html The Cultural Thread/El Hilo Cultural] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110727163429/http://www.parkpac.org/pp_exh.html |date=2011-07-27 }}, Park Performing Art Center. Accessed June 25, 2007.</ref> The town was famous for being the home of the rowdy Hudson [[American burlesque|Burlesque]].<ref name=GoogleNews/><ref name=TimesPassion>Romano, Jay. [https://www.nytimes.com/1989/03/05/nyregion/union-city-journal-2-passion-plays-thrive-on-a-friendly-rivalry.html "Union City Journal: 2 Passion Plays Thrive On a 'Friendly Rivalry'"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', March 5, 1989. Accessed October 14, 2015.</ref> Theaters in Union City featured [[vaudeville]] and burlesque and acts including [[Fred Astaire]] and [[Harry Houdini]].<ref name=History/><ref>Fernandez, 2010, p. 15.</ref> It was at a vaudeville theater in Union City that comedian [[George Burns]] would meet his longtime partner and wife, [[Gracie Allen]].<ref>[https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/gracie-allen/bio/152480 "Grace Allen Biography"]. ''[[TV Guide]]''. Accessed April 14, 2014.</ref> Union City was also for a time the home to the headquarters of sports publisher [[Joe Weider]].<ref>[[Joe Weider|Weider, Joe]]; Weider, Ben; and Steere, Mike. [https://books.google.com/books?id=RHFRX2spCvMC&pg=PA115 ''Brothers of Iron''], p. 115. Sports Publishing LLC, 2006. {{ISBN|9781596701243}}. Accessed August 28, 2017. "In January 1957, the guys loaded one last moving van and then I locked the doors forever on Hopkins Avenue. About a mile of there we celebrated the opening of a brand-new headquarters at 801 Palisade Avenue, Union City, New Jersey."</ref> Weider's empire included a Weider Barbell store in Union City, whose patrons included body builder [[Dave Draper]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/24/sports/dave-draper-dead.html|title=Dave Draper, Bodybuilding's 'Blond Bomber,' Dies at 79|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|language=en-US|url-status=live|author=Sandomir, Richard|date=December 24, 2021|access-date=August 30, 2023|archive-date=February 8, 2022|archive-url=https://archive.today/20220208171037/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/24/sports/dave-draper-dead.html}}</ref> The first [[Cubans]] immigrated to Union City from New York City in the late 1940s, having been attracted to the city in search of work after hearing of its famed embroidery factories.<ref name=OtherCuban/><ref name=TechPlans/><ref name=NewYorkTimes2.5.06>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/05/nyregion/on-politics-a-cuban-revolution-only-its-in-new-jersey.html|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|title=ON POLITICS; A Cuban Revolution, Only It's in New Jersey|author=Gettleman, Jeffrey|language=en-US|url-status=live|date=February 5, 2006|access-date=January 12, 2023|archive-date=February 23, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210223174541/https://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/05/nyregion/on-politics-a-cuban-revolution-only-its-in-new-jersey.html}}</ref> A majority of these Cubans hailed from small towns or cities, particularly [[Villa Clara Province]] in central Cuba.<ref name=OtherCuban/><ref name=TechPlans/> After [[World War II]], veterans relocated to [[Bergen County, New Jersey|Bergen County]], causing a short-lived decline in the population.<ref name=NewYorkSun>Hope, Bradley. [http://www.nysun.com/new-york/havana-on-hudson-reverberates-after-castros/37178/ "Havana on Hudson Reverberates After Castro's Operation"], ''[[The New York Sun]]'', August 2, 2006. Accessed July 6, 2017. "Several of the group's leaders sat in chairs around the union hall on a quiet street in Union City, N.J., a town minutes away from Manhattan that was once known as 'Havana on the Hudson'."</ref> By the 1960s the city was predominantly an old-line Italian enclave.<ref name=GoogleNews/><ref>[[Jeffrey Gettleman|Gettleman, Jeffrey]]. [https://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/01/nyregion/william-musto-88-a-mayor-reelected-on-his-way-to-jail-is-dead.html "William Musto, 88, a Mayor Re-elected on His Way to Jail, Is Dead"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', March 1, 2006. Accessed November 14, 2019. "Mr. Musto, a Democrat, was a pioneer in affirmative action, flinging open the doors to City Hall to his growing Cuban-American constituency. He was mayor from 1962 to 1970 and 1974 to 1982, an era when the city, perched on the sandstone palisades across the Hudson from New York City, dramatically changed, from an old-line Italian enclave to a little Little Havana."</ref> This began to change when [[Cuban exile|large numbers of Cubans emigrated]] to the city after [[Fidel Castro]] took power in 1962. This made Union City for many years the city with the largest Cuban population in the U.S. after Miami, hence its nickname, "Little [[Havana on the Hudson]]."<ref name=GoogleNews/><ref name=NewYorkSun/><ref>Grenier, Guillermo J. [https://books.google.com/books?id=3XBcqhL_pKEC&pg=PA84 ''Miami Now!: Immigration, Ethnicity, and Social Change'']. Archived at [[Google Books]]. Accessed March 31, 2011.</ref> Following the [[Mariel boatlift]] in 1980, 10,000 Cubans settled in New Jersey, leading to a second wave of Cubans to Union City, which totaled 15,000 by 1994.<ref name=PopikUnionCity/><ref name=HR20070625/><ref>Evelyn Nieves (August 29, 1994). [https://www.nytimes.com/1994/08/29/nyregion/cubans-kin-are-anxious-in-union-city.html "Cubans' Kin Are Anxious In Union City"]. ''The New York Times''. Accessed December 15, 2016.</ref> The city, as well as neighboring towns such as [[West New York, New Jersey|West New York]], experienced a profound cultural impact as a result of this, as seen in such aspects of local culture as its cuisine,<ref>Sietsema, Robert (December 13, 2016). [https://ny.eater.com/2016/12/13/13868522/havana-on-the-hudson-new-jersey-best-cubano-sandwiches "A Food Crawl Through Havana on the Hudson"]. Eater. Accessed July 6, 2017.</ref> fashion, music, entertainment and [[cigar]]-making.<ref name=GoogleNews/><ref>[http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2005/09/04/2003270336 "Cuban cigar tradition fades"]. ''[[Taipei Times]]''. September 4, 2005</ref><ref>Martin, Lydia. "Cuban cool", ''[[The Star-Ledger]]'', August 9, 1995. pp. 41 and 54.</ref><ref>Juri, Carmen. "Jersey's Cuban flavors", ''[[The Star-Ledger]]'', August 9, 1995. pp. 41 and 54.</ref><ref name=NYTimes2.21.08>[[Peter Applebome|Applebome, Peter]]. [https://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/21/nyregion/21towns.html "In Little Little Havana, Not Quite as Much of a Cuban Feel"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', February 21, 2008. Accessed October 14, 2015.</ref> Amid a redevelopment boom in the early 1960s, The Troy Towers, a 22-story twin tower luxury apartment complex, was completed in 1966 on the edge of the Palisades cliffs<ref name=NYTimes5.9.18>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/09/realestate/living-in-union-city-new-jersey.html|title=Union City, N.J.: Close to the City, but Still Affordable|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|author=Capuzzo, Jill P.|date=May 9, 2018|access-date=October 7, 2020|archive-date=May 9, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180509131244/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/09/realestate/living-in-union-city-new-jersey.html}}</ref> on Mountain Road<ref name=JJ12.9.65>{{cite news|title=Troy Towers Going Up: New Look for Mountain Road|newspaper=[[The Jersey Journal]]|date=December 9, 1965|page=26}}</ref> at 19th Street, at the former site of the Abbey Inn, just north of where a motorized vehicle elevator and a staircase called the Lossburg Steps were located. The former was an angled ramp originally built for horse-drawn carriages, which along with the steps, connected to [[Hackensack Plank Road]] beneath the cliffs,<ref name=JJ12.9.65/> in the Shades section of Weehawken.<ref>{{cite news|title=Kids Still Use Perilous Lossberg Steps|newspaper=[[The Jersey Journal]]|date=November 13, 1963|page=16}}</ref> According to the Hudson County Multiple Listing service, between 2016 and 2018 the median list price of residential properties on the market in Union City fluctuated between $345,000 and $509,000. The most expensive home on the market in May 2018 was a four-family building on sale for $1.6 million, while the lowest was a studio apartment in Troy Towers for $148,000. A typical residential property was a six-bedroom, three-family house in need of updating, listed at $568,000.<ref name=NYTimes5.9.18/>
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