Events
May - the seminal month of the year for historic preservation.
A profound period when the municipality's architectural monuments are opened wide to the populace, when archives almost always off-limits are brought forward - and when threatened landmarks largely overlooked and endangered are instead highlighted, acclaimed, defended.
Over three decades ago, the National Trust for Historic Preservation - a Washington, D.C.-based historic preservation organization that advocates for landmarks across the country - initiated National Preservation Week. The event, consisting of tours, lectures, workshops and festivals, evolved over the years into a month-long celebration - a profound reflection of preservation’s popularity and adoption as a practice, profession and philosophy.
Now in its thirteenth year of celebrating National Preservation Month, the Jersey City Landmarks Conservancy - formed as a non-profit in 1999 by activists to answer threats facing Jersey City’s historic sites, objects and districts - will be partnering with local historians, scholars, educators, neighborhood groups and community organizers to create an extended preservation experience.
An exciting series of historical walking tours and events is scheduled for the entire month of May - and even leading into June as an added bonus. View the schedule posted below or DOWNLOAD IT TO YOUR SMARTPHONE + TABLET!
Read the Legends & Landmarks article in The Jersey Journal >
View the online Preservation Month 2012 photo gallery >
Saturday, May 5, 2012: Kick-Off Preservation Month 2012 Event: Historic Jersey City & Harsimus Cemetery Clean-Up
Time: 9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Place: Meet at the cemetery gates, 435 Newark Avenue between 7th Street and Waldo Avenue, Jersey City. Light rain or shine
Cost: Free
Sponsor(s)/Organizer(s): Historic Jersey City & Harsimus Cemetery, Village Neighborhood Association, Village Helpers, MS 4 and JC Landmarks
Information: Go to jerseycitycemetery.org or email Eileen Markenstein at markensteine@optonline.net
Tuesday, May 8, 2012: Researching Home Histories with Historian Cynthia Harris
Time: 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Place: The New Jersey Room, 3rd Floor, Main Branch, Jersey City Free Public Library
Cost: Free; however, reservation is required
Reservations: Contact Cynthia Harris at charris@jclibrary.org or (201) 547-4503
Sponsor(s)/Organizer(s): The New Jersey Room, Jersey City Free Public Library and JC Landmarks
Above: John Beekman, left; Danny Klein, center; and Cynthia Harris, right, in The New Jersey Room, Jersey City Free Public Library. 2012 photo by Reena Rose Sibayan/The Jersey Journal.
Saturday, May 12, 2012: Washington Village Walking Tour with Historian Dennis Doran
Time: 12:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Place: Meet at Riverview Park Gazebo on Ogden Avenue between Griffith & Bowers Streets, Jersey City Heights. Light rain or shine
Cost: $5 for adults, $3 for seniors & students with school identification
Information: Contact Dennis Doran at dgdoran91@comcast.net
Sponsor(s)/Organizer(s): JC Landmarks
Above: Historian Dennis Doran standing in front of the circa-1740 Van Vorst House, Palisade Avenue, Jersey City Heights. 2012 photo by Reena Rose Sibayan/The Jersey Journal.
Saturday, May 19, 2012: Bergen Square Walking Tour with Historian Dennis Doran
Time: 12:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. Light rain or shine
Place: Meet at MLK/Public School 11, corner of Bergen Avenue and Academy Street, Journal Square, Jersey City
Cost: $5 for adults, $3 for seniors & students with school identification
Information: dgdoran91@comcast.net
Sponsor(s)/Organizer(s): JC Landmarks
Monday, May 21, 2012: Robert W. Jackson's "Highway Under the Hudson: A History of the Holland Tunnel" Book Talk & Signing
Time: 7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
Place: The Barrow Mansion, 83 Wayne Street, Jersey City
Cost: Free; however, reservation is recommended
Reservations: Contact info@embankment.org as seating is limited to 70
Sponsor(s)/Organizer(s): Embankment Preservation Coalition and Barrow Mansion Development Corporation with support from JC Landmarks
Tuesday, May 22, 2012: Researching Your Family History with Historian Danny Klein
Time: 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Place: The New Jersey Room, 3rd Floor, Main Branch, Jersey City Free Public Library, Jersey Avenue and Montgomery Street, Jersey City
Cost: Free; however, reservation is required
Information: Contact Mr. Klein at dklein@jclibrary.org or (201) 547-4503
Sponsor(s)/Organizer(s): The New Jersey Room, Jersey City Free Public Library and JC Landmarks
Saturday, May 26, 2012: Lafayette History Festival & Tour
Time: 12:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. Light rain or shine
Place: Meet at Rev. Dr. Excel F. Webb Park, Lafayette & Van Horne Streets, Lafayette, Jersey City. Special dedication of the Glenn D. Cunningham History Trail at Webb Park and visit to JCLC's Lafayette Preservation Window at Communipaw Avenue & Pine Street
Cost: Free
Information: Rosalyn Browne at commblock@msn.com or (201) 432-6565
Sponsor(s)/Organizer(s): Communipaw Avenue Block Association, Monumental Baptist Church, Afro-American Historical Society Museum, City of Jersey City, JC Landmarks and historians Jenny Furlong, PhD and John Gomez, M.S. Historic Preservation
Above: Jenny Furlong, PhD in front of the former Lafayette Dutch Reformed Church Annex on Communipaw Avenue. 2012 photo by Reena Rose Sibayan/The Jersey Journal.
Thursday, May 31, 2012: JCLC 12th Annual Preservation Awards Ceremony
Time: 6:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. Presentation of awards starts at 7:30 p.m.
Place: The Landmark Loew's Jersey Theatre, Journal Square, Jersey City
Cost: $25 at the lobby door or by ordering from JCLC President John Hallanan at jclandmarks@gmail.com (click on the button below to order via email). Admission includes buffet, wine, coffee/ dessert, slide show of awardees, and a guided tour of the theatre by historian Colin Egan
Sponsor(s): Lord Abbett, Mack-Cali, Friends of the Loew's and JC Landmarks
Sunday, June 3, 2012: Extended Preservation Month 2012 Event: The Italian Village Heritage Walking Tour with Preservationist Joshua Parkhurst
Time: 12:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. Light rain or shine
Place: Meet at Madame Claude's at 4th & Brunswick Streets, The Village, Jersey City
Cost: $5 for adults; $3 for seniors & students with school identification
Information: Jim Ayers at jim.ayers@jcvillage.org
Sponsor(s)/Organizer(s): Village Neighborhood Association and JC Landmarks
All Preservation Month 2012 programming is organized by JCLC and listed co-sponsors. Events are rain or shine and subject to change or cancellation. Check this site and our Twitter channel @jclandmarks for updates, added tours/events and/or possible cancellations.
FROM THE NATIONAL TRUST FOR HISTORIC PRESERVATION IN WASHINGTON, DC:
May is National Preservation Month and this year’s theme is “Discover America's Hidden Gems.” Communities from coast to coast are filled with unexplored historic treasures—and May’s the month to celebrate them!
Learn more about the Trust's 2012 Preservation Month theme "Discover America's Hidden Gems"
