History: The Fabian and Shop Rite
1/28/2010:
Then, now and tomorrow?
When Hoboken411 broke the news that Barnes & Noble will close, the conversation in the comments section went in a few interesting directions. With Hoboken’s largest and most diverse readership, reaction to the news was followed by predictions on what’s to come, as well as memories of what came before. Great comments from several registered users spurred me to dig into the archives to bring back more memories.
It all started with the Fabian
In 1928, one of Hoboken’s crown jewels was born. The Fabian Theater was a 3,500 seat marvel. Beautifully appointed and engineered at the corner of Newark and Washington, the Fabian played host to Frank Sinatra, Al Jolson, live performances and movies. Take a look at these photos of the interior.
The Fabian thrived until the ‘60’s, when “Urban Renewal” became all the rage. In Mayor Louie DePascale’s Hoboken “old” was bad and “Hoboken’s New Look” was in. It was during this era that blocks of On The Waterfront-era Hudson Street were condemned and torn down to make way for Marine View Plaza’s high-rise apartments and parking garages. The Fabian closed for good in 1965. By 1968 it was condemned to be torn down and replaced by a shiny new Shop-Rite that would kick off the ‘70’s in New Hoboken Style.
It wasn’t long before the ‘80s Real Estate Boom of the “Delivered Vacant” era put the barely 15 year-old Shop-Rite in jeopardy. Yuppie developers Danny Gans and George Vallone set their sites on replacing it with a 1.3 acre mixed use development including two 12-story condo towers designed by architect Dean Marchetto. The “Court Street Plaza” project was debated for two years before being approved in July of 1987.
288 Condos were planned, with 351 underground parking spaces. Even with approvals, activists continued to oppose the project, which was ultimately killed by the ‘80s Real Estate Crash.
Shop Rite gives way to CVS, but what next?
Ultimately even the downtown Shop-Rite couldn’t survive. The site was ultimately re-configured to house CVS, Sam Goody, NYSC and the soon-to-be-departed Barnes & Noble.
Napster and iTunes killed Sam Goody, and CVS was more than happy to take the space. The owners of this retail property and parking lot don’t live in Hoboken, and apparently enjoy a tidy and easy profit renting it out. There’s still pressure to tear it down and start over. Former Mayor David Roberts was known to look out his City Hall office window and grouse about how so many tax ratables could be pumping cash into his coffers if only condo towers would replace the one-story CVS. Architect Dean Marchetto has never taken his eyes completely off the property, plans for which continue “to dance like sugarplums” in his head.
The Fabian is gone, and so is Shop Rite, Sam Goody and soon, Barnes & Noble.
What will be on this site 20 years from now?
Share your favorite memories of this block and Hoboken gone by below here on the most read website about all things Hoboken!
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33 Responses to ** History: The Fabian and Shop Rite **
January 29th, 2010 |
@ notnow said: “Nothing is going to be built there. The owner will not part with this property. It’s a cash cow with relatively low taxes. It will look the exact same way in 20 years. There were already approvals on that site for 300 units or so a while back and nothing ever happened.”
Boy I hope you are right. Should for some odd reason they decide to build here, isn’t this a textbook example of “perimeter parking” that was talked about by the administration 10 years ago or so? Cars could come into town and into this lot on Observer Highway and never be on the sidestreets in town. Isn’t that the idea? And what happened to the “perimeter parking” on the west side? Apologies for the reminder.
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January 29th, 2010 |
Put height limits and a required number of parking spaces on whatever is built there. With Walgreen’s coming to town, CVS won’t be missed while construction is going on.
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January 29th, 2010 |
whine . The scratch house didn’t have vending machines..guys would walk the aisles with icecream,popcorn etc..they usually got a beaten..ushers wore boots because the kids use to pee down the aisles.The manager Sam would put u on the stage when the seats were full..many kids went blind..no fire laws inforced
Fabian was a bit more refined..for 40 to 60cents sure was an upgrade from nits and lice. the city queen had nice hotdogs.we were on a tight budget then..Maybe the old days are now but we dont realize it.
In response to whineanddineinhob who said:
Actually, I think that usher was holing a sign which read “SORRY BALCONY CLOSED. Well, that didn’t matter either.
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January 29th, 2010 |
Hey whiskey. I vaguely remember seeing a very weathered gray wooden structure next to the bank when I was a real small kid when my mom took me on Washington street. I think mom even referred to it as the scratch house. I know I’ve never been inside it. Only two I’ve been inside were the Fabian and the US.
In response to wiskeytango1 who said:
whine . The scratch house didn’t have vending machines..guys would walk the aisles with icecream,popcorn etc..they usually got a beaten..ushers wore boots because the kids use to pee down the aisles.The manager Sam would put u on the stage when the seats were full..many kids went blind..no fire laws inforced
Fabian was a bit more refined..for 40 to 60cents sure was an upgrade from nits and lice. the city queen had nice hotdogs.we were on a tight budget then..Maybe the old days are now but we dont realize it.
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January 29th, 2010 |
I have no problem with development and I have no problem with cars. They would need to completely rework the traffic flow for that block if they did development here. It gets rough at Observer and Washington and Newark and Washington already, and with the buses flying out of the terminal onto Observer, where are the entrance and exit going to be? Observer? Washington? Hudson? Newark between Hudson and Washington is a disaster as it is.
It is a tough spot. I am not a civil engineer, but I would think there would be a lot of work involved. Maybe if they cleared the street parking on that block… I do not know. I like the idea of perimeter parking, but I think it would be better suited away from Washington.
In response to plywood who said:
OK, let’s use your 300 units with let’s say 300 onsite parking spots. How many vehicles will this attract? The 300 for sure, with another 100 to 150 or so for residents who have two cars for one unit for whatever reason, so they park the less used one on the street with residential parking permit. Of course probably one in ten residents doesn’t own a car, so they rent their spot out to a non-resident friend who works in Manhattan.
Now try this. 100 residential units with 300 parking spots, 100 spots for the building residents with only additional residential street parking permits allowed at double fee, 50 spots with 1 hour time limit for on-site retail / visiting city hall or PD use, and 150 spots given on a monthly contract for first come, first serve basis for residents who live within 4 blocks of the site and can document that they own / rent a residential unit that has no parking space. One spot per address, when that is exhausted, second spot at double fee. If you really want to work it, the person need also produce a pay stub to prove they work in an area thinly served by mass transit (read much of New Jersey) or pay an upcharge. I dislike making this parking for the rich, which is why the fee for the first car should be held down where it makes sense.
I don’t believe this formula would produce that much new car influx other than for the new units being created.
Most of New Jersey is not mass-transit friendly. Let’s stop pretending many / most Hobokenites own cars for discretionary reasons. Many shoar AND long term residents do not work in Manhattan, nor can they install a driveway. They would like new development (read: density) that works for them too, and silly little parks / green spaces usually floated don’t fit the bill.
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January 29th, 2010 |
whine your right..at two i was 11..closed down in 1952..next door was a small eatery..they gave u a milk shake for around 20cents.
little did we know the icecream was missing..funny. We didnt have the money to go to the fabian.there was this big fat kid fat freddie..he had a speical seat knocked two arm rests out for him
he smelled of cheese..lmao. lots of memories..some stinkey some sweet..now it would cost you over 50 dollars to take kids to a movie.geeee.
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January 29th, 2010 |
I think you mis-read my reply wiskey. I replied that the only two theaters I went to were the Fabian and US. Didn’t mean I was 2 yrs. old. In 1952 I was Five.
In response to wiskeytango1 who said:
whine your right..at two i was 11..closed down in 1952..next door was a small eatery..they gave u a milk shake for around 20cents.
little did we know the icecream was missing..funny. We didnt have the money to go to the fabian.there was this big fat kid fat freddie..he had a speical seat knocked two arm rests out for him
he smelled of cheese..lmao. lots of memories..some stinkey some sweet..now it would cost you over 50 dollars to take kids to a movie.geeee.
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May 19th, 2010 |
The end of the time for the Fabian came in the sixties when Hoboken was
becoming a poor forgotten place. Lice infested the seats and it was dilapadated.
We have a new one in another location. Netflix will put them out also soon enough!
Blockbuster has rentals and the service is nice, in a good location! (mid-town)!
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May 19th, 2010 |
The Fabian was really Beautiful in it’s day. It fell due to the economy of the time. For example, Marine View Apts. were difficult to rent back then.
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May 19th, 2010 |
Blockbuster is going to go out of business well before Clearview Cinemas ever does.
In response to Margaret who said:
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May 19th, 2010 |
I agree. I’ve already been to the new movie theater more times than I’ve been to blockbuster in the past 3 years.
If I want to stay in I have FiOS and a Tivo, why rent anything? I go to the movies to see something on a big screen. I personally will wait till chickflick comes on cable before seeing it in theater, I reserve that for films with special effects.
In response to homeworld who said:
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May 19th, 2010 |
I agree. There’s a trend here. First Sam Goody, then Hollywood Video, then Barnes&Noble, so Blockbuster is next. The movie theater is here to stay. Too bad we can’t bring the Fabian back.
In response to homeworld who said:
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September 24th, 2012 |
anyone remember the hansen family that lived on 75 washington st. nellie and helmut, kids herman harry chris esther sonja
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