5/15/2008 Update:

(If I were a ribbon-cutting calendar, I’d be sweating bullets over the events I’d be booked for over the next 12 months!)

Some progress being made on Sybil’s Cave along Sinatra Drive. The workers were upset I was taking pictures, claiming “You can’t do that!!” I said “Yes I can, have a nice day.”

PHOTO GALLERY (HOLD MOUSE OVER IMAGE TO NAVIGATE - 4 PHOTOS IN THIS SET)

Previous Cave-dwelling updates after the jump…

4/10/2008:

Not sure what the deal is (since I didn’t get the memo once again), but Mayor Dave Roberts is apparently over at Sybil’s Cave at the present time (heard on the live Hoboken police and fire scanner). Could it be another ribbon-cutting?

10/24/2007 Update:

Here are some progress photos of the restoration of the Sybil’s Cave entrance. Hufnagel Landscaping hard at work at their city-issued job.

10/9/2007 Update:

I’ll tell ya, sometimes I just cannot find the intestinal fortitude to get excited about certain things in Hoboken. Sybil’s Cave is one of them (no offense, history buffs).

Back in the old days, caves were really cool. Like a new place to explore, etc. Been there, done that. We have iPods and plasma TV’s to keep us entertained these days. While it’s considered an “important” part of Hoboken’s “history”, it seems to be more of a political chess piece and ribbon cutting excuse than anything else. Will this count as “open space”? Will you want to bring the kids here on a regular basis? I doubt it.

More importantly, will it ever get completed through the various phases? Or just stop again because they can’t find the money, or it’s determined to be “unsafe” to enter? They’re planning to put some fence around it, and clean up the opening a bit. The next phase (which is pending) will open up the cave and make it a tourist attraction. If the water in there still has “medicinal” effects, then maybe I’ll re-consider. My bet is that if you drink any water that’s currently in there, you’ll likely end up with a mouth full of sores.

Am I wrong to shrug my shoulders at this cave? However, I’d totally change my opinion if they find City records, like cell phone bills, etc.

Here’s a picture of a Hufnagel worker standing around on Monday.

Read more about this “hole in the wall” after the jump.

6/21/2007 Update:

The 24hr a day police presence replaced by mound of dirt and some planks of wood.

6/7/2007 Update:

Excavation had started, then was immediately stopped by Al Arezzo.

2/2/2007:
Haven’t covered this Hoboken historic landmark yet, and this reader was wondering what’s going on with it! The Mayor started something, but hasn’t done squat with it in a while.

“Litterboken” says:
“Howdy,

Any idea what is up with the mayor’s plan to restore Sybil’s Cave? They haven’t done any work on that area in well over a year, and the area was better looking when it was overgrown. If restoration isn’t possible, wouldn’t it make sense to at least clean it up, put some benches in, and call it “green space”?

From Wikipedia:

Sybil’s Cave is a cave with a water spring, that is now buried at the bottom of the Stevens Institute of Technology hill, near the Castle Point Skate Park. The cave was a major attraction in Hoboken in the 19th century. It has inspired many legends and stories for more than 100 years.

The cave opened in 1832, was shut in the 1880s due to Health Department concerns about its water, and was filled with dirt and concrete during the 1930s. The current mayor of Hoboken, David Roberts, has plans to excavate the site and recreate the archway that once stood in front of the cave. A historic marker explaining the cave’s history is also planned.

Edgar Allan Poe used a real event that occurred in 1841 at Sybil’s Cave as a basis for the detective story “The Mystery of Marie Roget”

Hoboken, Sybils Cave, Hufnagel Landscaping, Mayor David Roberts