There are few sites left to mark the history of Union City’s prosperous industrial era. In the early 1900s, Union City was a leading manufacturer in textile goods. Yet one of the city’s most prominent historical landmarks of that era, the R.H. Simon Silk Mill at 39th Street and Kennedy Boulevard, is slated for demolition.
In the hopes of bringing further awareness to this important piece of Union City’s heritage, the historical advocates of Preservation New Jersey, affiliates of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection’s (DEP) Historic Preservation Office, have named the mill one of 2005’s 10 Most Endangered Historic Sites.
Leading the way for historical preservation was 39th Street resident Kathy Pontus.
“I feel gratified because it is definitely an important piece of history,” said Pontus. “It was the largest employer in the area [in the early 1900s], and who knows if Union City would have survived the way it did without it. It possibly kept the city afloat.”
In a press conference held on Tuesday, May 10, at the New Jersey State House Annex in Trenton, Preservation New Jersey, Inc. released their 11th annual list of the 10 Most Endangered Sites in New Jersey. Among them included the Wildwoods Doo Wop Historic Motel District in Wildwood Crest, Cape May County, and Ford Faesch Manor House in Rockaway Township, Morris County.
According to PNJ’s release, “New Jerseyans are alarmed by the loss of a sense of ‘someplace’ in their communities as towns, cities, and the countryside look more like ‘anyplace’ everyday.”
A piece of the past
Built in 1874, Union City’s R.H. Simon Silk Mill is significant because it is a reminder of the state’s booming industrial era and because of its unique architectural design, which no longer exists in the area.
The mill was reputedly the finest of three major mills in Union City producing dress silk, ribbons, ties and velvets, among others.
In 1914 it became one of the largest employers in the city with 2,500 laborers working under its roof. However, the main reason it has made PNJ’s Endangered Sites program, which first began in 1995 and has always emphasized constructive action, is the looming threat of the building’s demolition for the construction of a new high school, which would extend the length of 39th Street.
“This is the most expensive project in the city, between relocation, demolition, and debris removal the cost would be astronomical,” said Pontus.
The school would be constructed with funds from the state’s vaunted School Construction Corporation.
Mill now houses artists
In a letter Pontus addressed to state Inspector General Mary Jane Cooper, who is looking at School Construction Corporation operations, Pontus wrote, “We have felt all along that besides the other questionable things involved with the picking of this site for one of the schools, the state should not, with our tax dollars, destroy any of our historical locations.”
An opposition to the 39th Street development has been ongoing since early 2004 when local residents first heard that the site was being looked at for the new schools. This posed a great deal of concern not only for the residents of 39th Street, but for the tenants of what is still a very active and privately owned R.H. Simon Silk Mill.
Although no longer the textile giant it once was, the R.H. Simon Silk Mill has now become home to many local artists in residence, who have transformed the mill’s rooms into lofts and studios, as well as other local businesses. Currently the site is complex made up of a number of brick-corbelled buildings of varying heights all connected by courtyards.
Pontus has also tried preserving the mill through local administrative channels. For many years in Union City there exists an ordinance labeled “Chapter 23 – Preservation of Historical Landmarks” committee, which as yet to be appointed. Pontus has been trying to get the committee instated after submitting a proposal to Mayor Brian Stack. No appointments have taken place as of yet.
During his 2004-2005 term as an Assemblyman of the 33rd District, Mayor Stack also co-sponsored a bill on the legislative level for $18 million for the historic preservation of sites around New Jersey.
“The true shocking aspect is that despite sponsoring that bill for other towns, he has no regard for the historic locations in his own town,” said Pontus.
Hope for the future
It is the hope that through awareness and support built by PNJ, local elected officials will see the significance of this historic landmark and how it can still be a viable cultural center of the community.
One of PNJ’s criteria for the list is “based on the likelihood that solutions can be found and historic buildings can places can be brought back to useful and productive life.” Unfortunately, the list does not guarantee or prevent the disappearance of these historical sites, it offers them a fighting chance.
“I’m happy that it was added this year, so people know what is planning to be destroyed,” said Pontus. “It’s the history of the city, and it’s a viable and active building.”
Pontus further explains in her letter, “This designation speaks volumes to us, as this is a large state with a lot of history. For there only to be 10 designated sites and this to be one of them certainly shows, as we have previously pointed out, the importance of this site. It shouldn’t have been discounted by the State’s SCC when approving the demolition of the R.H. Simon Silk Mill.”
What’s the timeline?
For the past year both tenants of the mill and local neighborhood residents have lived with an uncertainty of when and if they would have to vacate this site. Due to the recent financial problems of the New Jersey School’s Construction Corporation, many of the approved projects have been put on hold.
“It makes no sense, and it is not free by any means,” said Pontus. “These are our tax dollars. Anyone who pays New Jersey State tax [is paying the construction cost].”
There have been no finalized plans in design or timetable for the 39th Street site, while its residents attempt to save their homes and a piece of Union City’s history.
Among some of Union City’s other endangered historical sites also named by Preservation New Jersey, but not on the top 10 list, are Roosevelt Stadium, located on Kennedy Boulevard and 26th Street, which is also slated for a high school construction project.