2023 – A Productive and Very Diverse Photowalk 11-15-23

……………………………………………(ignore April 30, 2017 publish date – this was published on November 23, 2023)

 

This was supposed to be a short one – maybe a few blocks, but interesting stuff kept jumping in front of my camera and it wound up being almost 3 miles (my cardiologist will LOVE that).

NOTE: many horizontal images are panoramic (PANO), so click to fully enlarge.

 

I started off with the usual – a block-long PANO of that residential construction project I’ve been shooting since last May that’s about 4 blocks away:

 

………and then walked around to the far side of it (another PANO):

 

I have no idea what these are for, but they sure made for a colorful PANO:

 

Slightly further up the street, I heard and saw some loud destruction going on (smaller PANO):

 

Another small PANO of the building on the SW corner of this Main/Berry/State/Camden streets project:

 

As I headed south on State St, I heard a plane and caught it as it went past another building on its approach to Teterboro Airport, about 3 miles south of here:

 

On the next block was this interesting PANO collection of old and new(er) Hackensack structures:

 

This sign was on the property of the church from the previous image. I was hoping to post this before Thanksgiving in case it might have benefited someone, but obviously didn’t make it:

 

I took a left on Salem St to get to Main St, not expecting to see anything of interest to shoot on Salem……….until I came across this outdoor man cave, complete with its own door, plush red leather sofa, a fan and oversized garbage can (“I only have to empty it twice a year!”), AND a case of Modelo beer (to the right of the door):

 

Also on Salem (off a small driveway), I found a mini-mall of important services that I had been unaware of: Need to frame your immigration photo? How about a studio to take care of your hair, nails, skin and waxing needs, PLUS a barber! (Gotta look good for those immigration photos!) PANO:

(and did you notice the manicure/pedicure sign for 20% on Tuesdays & Wednesdays in July and August?)

Now we’re all spiffed up for Main St.

 

Let’s start off with some interesting statuary:

(sorry for all the reflections……..where’s a cloudy day when you need one?)

 

Another hair-waxing-mani-pedi place…………this one’s still suffering from the effects of a fire next door (in the other direction) a couple of years ago:

 

I love the bench…………and I’m guessing that “spaguetti” is a Spanish spelling variation of “spaghetti”:

……..as is this:

 

Sounds like a rather limited menu (my kinda place):

 

Another 3-letter store name:

 

Does this place sell sandwiches or firefighters?

Upon closer inspection, the small print says “Proudly serving Thumann’s” and “Sandwich Shop”.

 

This is 76 Main St, which had a fire at this location 8 years ago. That building – which had to be torn down – had apartments and a first-floor restaurant. It’s nice to see the replacement finally becoming a reality:

 

Across the street, it appears that a mud pit is under construction:

 

I’m finally getting down to the end of Main St’s business section. You may remember this picture I took 2 months ago of the new business on that corner: “Bad Ass Hawaiian Coffee”. It was supposed to open a year ago, so I was disappointed to see that they were far from being able to do that:

 

However, in the last 2 moths, they’ve made AMAZING progress……….

…………..and should be opening any year now.

 

Frown turned to smile, however, as soon as I crossed the side street and saw trucks all over The Green (PANO):

 

What are these elevated workers doing?

PANO:

 

Well, here’s a hint:

 

Need another?

Turns out I just happened to show up at The Green on the day the city strung Christmas lights on the trees.

 

And YOU just happened to read this post far enough to get an invitation:

 

Usually, if I make it from my apartment to The Green (where George Washington’s army slept during their retreat from Fort Lee), I’ve walked a mile and start heading back, but something else was going on that day no matter where I went: there were some absolutely amazing clouds in the sky (and a bunch of jet trails) that made many of my shots way better.

Let’s start with this view of the Bergen County Courthouse – right across the street from The Green (how convenient):

The sun was right behind the dome and it looks like a solar explosion just occurred when I hit the shutter.

 

I continued down Court St and took this vertical shot of the historic Church On The Green – or more formally, the First Reformed Church of Hackensack (I live next door to the Second Reformed Church of Hackensack), which was established in 1686! George Washington attended the funeral service for one of his generals at this church!

 

But then I walked a little further east and saw this new message:

WHAT? It’s no longer the Church on the Green? When did this happen? I can’t imagine anyone referring to this edifice by any other name. And seeing “RCA” next to the new name is VERY strange to someone who was involved in the music business for decades. But I have great respect for the Korean community, having moderated a Korean dramas site for a couple of years, so I wish them well.

 

Onward to something new that’s just around the corner on River St…………

Two views of the enthusiastic cheerleader in front of the new Tropical Juice Bar at River and Bridge St:

 

A couple of closeups just before it exploded:

 

Here’s its head looking for the rest of it:

 

Around back, two of the Juice Bar decorations colorfully frame the 210 Main rooftop sculpture and part of The Printhouse residential building that replaced The Record newspaper’s headquarters:

 

Thanks to more of the Juice Bar’s decorations, the Church on the Green might have to undergo yet another name change to Church on the Green and Orange:

 

Moving a few hundred feet more to the east brings me to the middle of the Court St Bridge between Hackensack and Bogota:

In this PANO, you can see (l to r): the Church on the Green, the GOAT Climbing (!) Gym (blue and white building), The Brick (the two brick-colored tall residential buildings), the USS Ling WWII submarine in front of multiple residential buildings under construction on the riverbank (and behind multiple gulls on their wooden river perch), the Midtown Bridge (greenish structure WAY in the distance), and the SRM Concrete facility in Bogota…………oh yeah – and a cool-looking sky-full of clouds.

Lotsa stuff in one little pic, huh?

 

A closer PANO of all the center items:

 

If I had my way, this would be how the previous PANO would look (great green river reflections, no?):

Maybe this is what Creedence Clearwater Revival had in mind in their “Green River” song. Who wouldn’t want to “…come on home to Green River”? ESPECIALLY with that submarine there!

To the powers that be: This is SO unique! Don’t ever evict the Ling from its home of over 50 years! Imagine how boring this picture would be without that sub!

I think this guy agrees with me:

 

Switching gears, the nearby vegetation looked a little perkier two months ago (PANO):

But not so the sky………..

 

Two PANOs as I get closer to River St:

 

The front door of the aforementioned GOAT Climbing Gym:

Strange…………I’ve never had the urge to climb one.

 

Small River St PANO (the apartments are across the bridge in Bogota):

 

Three Printhouse/The Record property-related PANOs:

 

Meanwhile, across the street, another now-vacant property on River St that’s immediately north of the Hackensack Bus Depot awaits construction of yet another residential monolith that will take away cherished views from a good portion of the residents of The Brick (top, right of center) PANO:

 

Linear and curved PANOs of The Printhouse:

 

The RR overpass at River and Mercer streets with its literally-right-down-the-road Fairleigh Dickinson University ad (PANO):

 

The formerly-empty parking lots across the Midtown Bridge approach road from Bowler City are now jammed to the gills (the Bowler City entrance sign is way below the Uniroyal sign):

 

In case you’re wondering what that Bowler City sign says:

I guess that’s good (if you can find parking).

 

The 210 Main rooftop sculpture as seen from the back (River St):

 

Dance of the Clouds (Part 1):

 

From a short distance, I thought this was some kind of emergency vehicle, but then I saw that it belongs to Eastwick College, which is on Moore St in Hackensack, but I still don’t know its purpose (the vehicle, not the college):

 

 

Dance of the Clouds (and planes) (Part 2):

 

Dance of the Clouds (and planes) (Part 2a – PANO version):

 

Shooting while resting on a bench for the final push home:

This was on the Camden St side of the Current On River building.

 

Back on Main St at the building where I started this post:

 

Dance of the Clouds (and planes) (Part 3):

 

LAST SHOT!

The former Geri’s Deli is now a barber shop, whose sign’s sharp scissors point upward toward a billboard that the barber can’t be too happy about:

 

 

Time to drag myself home…………..but I’m feeling good about what I was able to photograph in an hour-and-a-half.

 

 

3 Comments

  1. Annemarie November 23, 2023

    So much has changed in your neck of the woods!
    Great shots, as usual.
    Happy Thanksgiving Bob!

  2. John OToole November 23, 2023

    That was fun!

  3. E November 26, 2023

    Amazing changes since I worked in Hackensack! Some not for the better.Thanks for the update ! Hope you had a Happy Thanksgiving.

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