Before and After: Reimagining Hoboken Architecture

HOBOKEN HISTORICAL MUSEUM (1301 Hudson Street)
It’s only appropriate that the home of the Hoboken Historical Museum is itself steeped in history. Its director, Bob Foster, explains, “The building the museum is in was built as a working shipyard in the 1880s by a company called W. & A. Fletcher. Then in the late 1920s, Bethlehem Steel took it over.”

Bethlehem Steel’s machine shop originally ran from 14th Street to 13th. But for the war effort in the 1940s, the building was expanded down to 12th Street. It was a huge, open, garage-like space, with train tracks down the middle, and a giant hook overhead. The company operated 24 hours a day, quickly becoming one of Hoboken’s biggest employers.

By the 1980s, Bethlehem Steel had ceased operations in town. The property was eventually purchased by the Barry family’s Applied Companies. “Joe Barry offered us a small section in the machine shop as a permanent home for the museum,” Foster recalls. “It was a gift—pretty amazing. A 100-year lease for $1 a year.”

The museum opened in its new space on April 12, 2001, and has been going strong ever since, shining a light on every aspect of the town’s compelling history. “We’re very proud that we’re in one of the oldest buildings on the Hoboken waterfront, and the architecture of the machine shop is inspiring,” Foster says. “It is a great home for the museum.”

Hoboken Architecture — Hoboken Historical Museum; OffMetro.com photo