Editing Jersey City, New Jersey (section)

===20th century===
[[File:ExchangePlacePRRDepotColgateClock1920s.tiff|thumb|left|View of Exchange Place from the Hudson, 1920s]]
By the turn of the 20th century, the [[City Beautiful movement]] had spread throughout cities in the United States. Part of its mission was to preserve public space for recreational activities in urban industrial communities. The [[Hudson County Park System|Hudson County Parks Commission]] was created in 1892 to plan and develop a county wide park and boulevard system similar to those found in other cities. From 1892 to 1897, [[County Route 501 (New Jersey)|Hudson Boulevard]] (now John F. Kennedy Boulevard) was built to connect the future park system from [[Bayonne, New Jersey|Bayonne]] to [[North Bergen, New Jersey|North Bergen]] through Jersey City.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1891/03/29/106048569.pdf | work=The New York Times | title=Hudson County Is Awake; Vast Improvements Are Under Way And In Prospect. Evidences Of A Realization That She Has Not Kept Up With The Procession -- Parks, A Fine Driveway, And Rapid Transit | date=March 29, 1891|access-date=February 11, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|title = The old and the New - The Opposition and the Proposed Route|journal =The New York Times|date = August 12, 1873| url = https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1873/08/12/105198282.pdf|access-date = February 11, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|date=August 30, 1896|title=Jersey City's Bicycle Parade: It Was Held Yesterday on the Hudson Boulevard and Was a Big Thing|page=6|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1896/08/30/archives/jersey-citys-bicycle-parade-it-was-held-yesterday-on-the-hudson.html|access-date=February 12, 2025}}</ref> In 1905, [[Lincoln Park (Jersey City)|Lincoln Park]] opened on the city's [[West Side, Jersey City|West Side]] as the largest park in Jersey City and the first and largest park in the county system. Designed by Daniel W. Langton and [[Charles N. Lowrie]], the {{convert|273.4|acre|ha|1}} park was mostly built on undeveloped [[wetlands]] and woodlands known as "Glendale Woods", stretching from the Boulevard to the [[Hackensack River]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://njcu.libguides.com/lincolnpark|title=Lincoln Park|website=njcu.libguides.com|access-date=February 12, 2025}}</ref> The Jersey City government was also inspired by the City Beautiful movement to build more open space creating [[Dr. Leonard J. Gordon Park]] in the Heights along Hudson Boulevard, Mary Benson Park in Downtown and Bayside Park in Greenville.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://njcu.libguides.com/gordon|title=Leonard J. Gordon Park|website=njcu.libguides.com|access-date=February 17, 2025}}</ref> The movement also inspired the construction of grand civic buildings in the city such as City Hall and the [[Hudson County Courthouse]].<ref name="Great City"/>

In 1908, the city's water supply was the first permanent [[Water chlorination|chlorinated]] disinfection system for drinking water in the United States. Devised by [[John L. Leal]] and designed by [[George W. Fuller]], the system was installed at the city's new [[Boonton Reservoir]], which replaced the Passaic River as the city's freshwater source in 1904.<ref>Leal, John L. (1909). "The Sterilization Plant of the Jersey City Water Supply Company at Boonton, N.J." ''Proceedings'' American Water Works Association. pp. 100–9.</ref> The [[PATH (rail system)|Hudson & Manhattan Railroad]] (now the PATH system) opened between 1908 and 1913 as New Jersey's first underground [[rapid transit]] system. For the first time, Jersey City and the rail terminals at [[Hoboken Terminal|Hoboken]], Pavonia and Exchange Place were directly linked with [[Midtown Manhattan|Midtown]] and [[Lower Manhattan|Lower]] Manhattan under the Hudson River, providing an alternative to transferring to the extensive ferry system.

In 1910, [[William L. Dickinson High School]] opened as the first purpose-built high school in Jersey City. The design of the school, built during the City Beautiful movement, is thought to have been inspired by that of the [[Louvre Colonnade]] and [[Buckingham Palace]]. The prominent hilltop location of the school has been an important location throughout the city's history. During the [[American Revolutionary War|Revolutionary War]], it was used as a lookout by General Washington and Marquis de Lafayette to observe British movements at the forts at Paulus Hook and in Lower Manhattan. After the start of the [[War of 1812]], the site assisted in defending New York Harbor with an [[arsenal]] built on the property's west side and with the east side serving as a troop campground. During the [[American Civil War|Civil War]], the arsenal served as barracks for [[Union army|Union soldiers]] and a hospital. The school was used as an army training facility during [[World War I]] and [[World War II]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://njcu.libguides.com/dickinson|title=Dickinson High School|website=njcu.libguides.com|access-date=February 17, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/10/06/nyregion/once-upon-a-time-when-high-schools-were-palaces.html|title=Once Upon a Time, When High Schools Were Palaces|publisher=The New York Times|date=October 6, 1996|access-date=February 19, 2025}}</ref>

On July 30, 1916, the [[Black Tom explosion]] occurred killing 7 people, damaging the Statue of Liberty and causing millions of dollars in damage in Jersey City and throughout the New York metropolitan area. The explosion was an act of sabotage on American [[munitions]] by German spies of the [[Nachrichten-Abteilung|Office of Naval Intelligence]] to prevent the ammunition from being shipped to the [[Allies of World War I|Allies]] for use during World War I. This event, coupled with the [[Sinking of the RMS Lusitania|torpedoing of the RMS Lusitania]], which killed 136 Americans in 1915, pushed the United States into entering the War in 1917.<ref>[https://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2004/july/blacktom_073004 "A Byte Out of FBI History; 1916 'Black Tom' Bombing Propels Bureau Into National Security Arena"], [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]], July 30, 2004. Accessed June 1, 2015.</ref><ref name="Great City"/>

====Mayor "Boss" Hague====
[[File:City of Jersey City Water Bond 1922.jpg|thumb|Water bond of the City of Jersey City, issued 1 September 1922, signed by Mayor Frank Hague]]
From 1917 to 1947, Jersey City was governed by Mayor [[Frank Hague]]. Originally elected as a candidate supporting reform in governance, his name is "synonymous with the early twentieth century urban American blend of political favoritism and social welfare known as [[bossism]]".<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.cityofjerseycity.org/hague/index.shtml|title=JerseyCityHistory.com - Jersey City Mayor Frank Hague}}</ref> Hague ran the city with an iron fist while, at the same time, molding governors, United States senators, and judges to his whims while also being a close political ally to [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]]. Boss Hague was known to be loud and vulgar, but dressed in a stylish manner, earning him the nickname "King Hanky-Panky".<ref>Alexander, Jack. [http://www.cityofjerseycity.org/hague/kinghankypanky/index.shtml "Boss Hague:King Hanky-Panky of Jersey"], copy of article from ''[[The Saturday Evening Post]]'', October 26, 1940, available at the City of Jersey City website. Accessed June 1, 2015.</ref> In his later years in office, Hague would often dismiss his enemies as "[[red (political adjective)|red]]s" or "[[commies]]". Hague lived like a millionaire, despite having an annual salary that never exceeded $8,500. He was able to maintain a fourteen-room [[duplex (building)|duplex]] apartment in Jersey City, a suite at the [[Plaza Hotel]] in Manhattan, and a palatial summer home in the [[Jersey Shore]] community of [[Deal, New Jersey|Deal]], and travel to Europe yearly in the royal suites of the best ocean liners.<ref name="time1">Staff. [http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,794736,00.html "Hague's End"], ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'', May 23, 1949. Accessed June 1, 2015.</ref><ref name=Hague>{{cite web|url=https://njcu.libguides.com/hague|title=Frank Hague, 1876-1956|website=njcu.libguides.com|access-date=February 11, 2025}}</ref>

Hague's time as mayor was also marked by his direct influence in the construction of several important infrastructure, educational, open space, healthcare and public works projects that became functional civic landmarks that define the city to this day. Some of these projects are the construction of [[Journal Square]] and its [[Loew's Jersey Theatre|theaters]], the [[Holland Tunnel]], the [[Wittpenn Bridge]], the design of [[New Jersey Route 139]], the [[Pulaski Skyway]], [[Lincoln High School (New Jersey)|Lincoln High School]], [[Henry Snyder High School|Snyder High School]], [[New Jersey City University#A. Harry Moore School|A. Harry Moore School]], [[New Jersey City University]], the Heights, Miller and Greenville branches of the [[Jersey City Free Public Library|library system]], [[Pershing Field]], Audubon Park, five [[public housing]] complexes, [[Harborside (Jersey City)|Harborside Terminal]], the Seventh [[Police precinct|Police Precinct]] and Criminal Court, the expansion of [[Jersey City Medical Center|Jersey City Hospital]] to [[The Beacon (Jersey City)|Jersey City Medical Center]], the [[Jersey City Armory]] and [[Roosevelt Stadium]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nj.com/hudson/2024/10/how-frank-hague-left-his-mark-on-jersey-city-legends-landmarks.html|title=How Mayor Frank Hague left his mark on Jersey City|publisher=The Jersey Journal|date=October 11, 2024|access-date=February 13, 2025}}</ref> Hague financed several of these projects with [[Works Progress Administration|WPA]] funds secured by [[Member of congress|congresswoman]] [[Mary Teresa Norton]] (1925–1951),
the first woman elected to represent New Jersey or any state in [[Northeastern United States|the Northeast]].<ref name="Hague"/>

After Hague's retirement from politics, a series of mayors including [[John V. Kenny]], [[Thomas J. Whelan (mayor)|Thomas J. Whelan]] and [[Thomas F. X. Smith]] attempted to take control of Hague's organization, usually under the mantle of political reform. None were able to duplicate the level of power held by Hague,<ref name="Grundy" /> but the city and Hudson County remained notorious for political corruption for decades to come.<ref>[https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1893/10/22/109731533.pdf "Hudson County's Degradation. Where Official Corruption Runs Riot is Not Concealed."] ''The New York Times'', October 22, 1893</ref><ref>[[Charles Strum|Strum, Charles]]. [https://www.nytimes.com/1991/12/19/nyregion/another-milepost-on-the-long-trail-of-corruption-in-hudson-county.html "Another Milepost on the Long Trail of Corruption in Hudson County"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', December 19, 1991. Accessed April 1, 2015.</ref><ref name="AnyRespect">Strunsky, Steve. [https://www.nytimes.com/2001/01/14/nyregion/why-can-t-hudson-county-get-any-respect-despite-soaring-towers-rising-property.html "Why Can't Hudson County Get Any Respect?; Despite Soaring Towers, Rising Property Values and Even a Light Rail, the Region Struggles to Polish Its Image"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', January 14, 2001. Accessed April 1, 2015.</ref>

====Post-World War II====
Following World War II, returning veterans created a [[Economic history of the United States#Housing|post-war economic boom]] and were beginning to buy homes in the suburbs with the assistance of the [[G.I. Bill]]. During the [[Great Depression]] and the war years, not much new housing was constructed, leaving cities with older and overcrowded housing stock. In response, Jersey City looked to build new housing on undeveloped tracts around the city. College Towers was built on the West Side as the first middle-income [[housing cooperative]] apartment complex in New Jersey in 1956. [[Country Village, Jersey City|Country Village]] was built in the 1960s as a middle-income "suburbia-in-the-city" planned community in the Greenville/West Side area to offer the "out of town" experience without leaving the city. The city had hoped that new residential neighborhoods and housing stock would keep the city's population stable.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://njcu.libguides.com/collegetowers|title=College Towers Apartments|website=njcu.libguides.com|access-date=February 20, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://njcu.libguides.com/countryvillage|title=Country Village|website=njcu.libguides.com|access-date=February 20, 2025}}</ref>

In 1951, [[Seton Hall University School of Law]] opened on the site of the former John Marshall Law School at 40 Journal Square and would relocate to Newark by the end of the year.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://law.shu.edu/about/history.html|title=History of Seton Hall Law School|website=law.shu.edu|access-date=March 24, 2025}}</ref> From 1956 to 1968, Jersey City Medical Center was the home of the [[Seton Hall University|Seton Hall]] College of Medicine and Dentistry, the predecessor to the [[University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey]] (UMDNJ), which would relocate to Newark in 1969.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://njms.rutgers.edu/about_njms/timeline.php|title=Timeline|website=njms.rutgers.edu|access-date=February 18, 2025}}</ref>

In 1956, the [[New Jersey Turnpike#Extensions|Newark Bay (Hudson County) Extension]] [[Interstate 78 in New Jersey|(I-78)]] of the New Jersey Turnpike opened. As the first [[Limited-access road|limited-access]] section of I-78 to be built in the state, the extension connected Jersey City and the Holland Tunnel to the mainline of the Turnpike in Newark via the [[Newark Bay Bridge]] and at an estimated cost of $2,765 per foot, it was deemed the "world's most expensive road".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nj.com/jerseyjournal150/2017/04/worlds_most_expensive_road_opened_in_nj_in_1956.html|title='World's most expensive road' opened in N.J. in 1956|publisher=The Jersey Journal|date=April 24, 2017|access-date=February 13, 2025}}</ref> That same year, the standard shipping container [[Containerization|debuted]] along with the maiden voyage of the [[container ship]] [[SS Ideal X]] from [[Port Newark]] to the [[Port of Houston]]. These innovations changed forever the way the [[Maritime transport|maritime industry]] shipped goods by sea and led to the transformation of Port Newark into the leading container port in New York Harbor. As a result, the Jersey City waterfront, along with the other traditional waterfront port facilities in the harbor, quickly became antiquated and fell into a steep decline. Additionally, by the late 1960s, the rail terminals and associated ferry service that were so vital to the city's economic health had closed and were later abandoned after the host railroads declared bankruptcy.<ref name="Great City"/> In response to adapt to this economic shift, [[Port Jersey]] was created on [[Upper New York Bay]] adjacent to [[Greenville Yard]] between 1972 and 1976 as the city's own modern [[intermodal freight transport]] facility and container shipping terminal.

By the 1970s the city experienced a period of urban decline spurred on by [[deindustrialization]] that saw many of its wealthy residents [[White flight|leave for the suburbs]], due to rising crime, civil unrest, political corruption, and economic hardship. From 1950 to 1980, Jersey City lost 75,000 residents, and from 1975 to 1982, the city lost 5,000 jobs, or 9% of its workforce.<ref name="Remaking">[[Andrew Jacobs (journalist)|Jacobs, Andrew]]. [https://www.nytimes.com/2000/04/30/nyregion/city-whose-time-has-come-again-after-years-deprivation-jersey-city-old.html "A City Whose Time Has Come Again; After Years of Deprivation, Jersey City, an Old Industrial Powerhouse, Is Remaking Itself"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', April 30, 2000. Accessed April 1, 2015.</ref>

In 1974, [[Hudson County Community College]] was established in [[Journal Square]] as one of two "contract" colleges in the United States and the first contract college in New Jersey to grant students occupational and career-oriented certificates and Associates in Applied Science degrees. Since then, the college has grown throughout the Journal Square and [[Bergen Square]] neighborhoods.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://njcu.libguides.com/hccc|title=Hudson County Community College|website=njcu.libguides.com|access-date=May 6, 2025}}</ref>

On [[Flag Day (United States)|Flag Day]] 1976, [[Liberty State Park]] opened on New York Harbor to coincide with the nation's [[United States Bicentennial|bicentennial]]. At {{convert|1,212|acre|ha|1}} with a two-mile waterfront walkway, it is the largest park in Jersey City and the largest urban park in New Jersey. The park was built on the site of the former railyards of the [[Central Railroad of New Jersey]] and [[Lehigh Valley Railroad]]. The idea for the park dated back to the late 1950s and its creation was advocated for and spearheaded by several Jersey City residents: Audrey Zapp, Theodore Conrad, Morris Pesin and [[J. Owen Grundy]]. Jersey City donated {{convert|156|acre|ha|1}} of land to the development of the park through their advocacy.<ref>{{cite news |last = Mohr |first = Charles |title = Ellis Isle Made National Shrine |newspaper = The New York Times |date = May 12, 1965 |url = https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1965/05/12/101546171.pdf?pdf_redirect=true&ip=0|access-date = February 13, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://njcu.libguides.com/libertypark|title=Liberty State Park|website=njcu.libguides.com|access-date=February 13, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nj.com/jerseyjournal150/2017/04/legendary_canoe_trip_liberty_state_park_vision_com.html|title=Liberty State Park vision came into focus during legendary canoe trip|publisher=The Jersey Jounral|date=April 24, 2017|access-date=February 13, 2025}}</ref> The [[Liberty Science Center]] opened in the park in 1993.