Many people may recognize the cartoon character "Felix the Cat", but what most don’t know is that the creator of the frisky feline, Otto Messmer, was born in West Hoboken, which in 1925 became Union City.
World-renowned magician Harry Houdini once stored his equipment and practiced his amazing feats of escape in a warehouse on 19th Street.
Sports heroes of yore, Frank Winters of the Green Bay Packers and Tom Heinsohn of the Boston Celtics, both hailed from Union City.
The location of the recently closed Kleon Furniture building on Summit Avenue was a silent movie house where many German and Italian immigrants enjoyed a pleasant diversion from their workaday lives.
And if one drives up the 14th Street Viaduct and heads into Union City from Hoboken, they will invariably drive, unknowingly, past the site of the very first automatic car wash in America.
As a result of the transient nature of the city, very few people have cared enough to keep a comprehensive history of a city that is actually rich in stories, experiences and lore.
But an appreciation of city’s interesting and fascinating past, as well as a keen desire to change the image of Union City as a place where people of differing backgrounds settle for a period of time and then move on, has ignited an effort to bring Union City’s rich history to the fore.
A group of local residents, some of whom are members of the Library Friends of Union City, have formed a committee to do just that.
According to Lucio Fernandez, president of the Union City Library Friends, "This is a culmination of the efforts of many people. And it’s an ongoing thing. We have been talking for a long time about doing something to show what Union City is about. We decided to form a committee, to which I appointed Kathy Pontus, along with others to find out ways to get this going."
At a recent meeting at the 43rd Street branch of the Union City Public Library, members of the new Union City Historical Committee recently gathered to explain the genesis of their formation and what they wish to accomplish.
Historical Committee member Juan Carlos Rojas owns the Havana on the Hudson production company and is currently working on a video history of Union City. Said Rojas, "We want to formulate a group of people that would put together a history, whether it’s in paper form, video, whatever. It’s important."
One of the group’s main objectives is the creation of a museum that is dedicated to the history of Union City.
Said Fernandez, "The Library Friends want to create a Union City museum. Through this we want to promote the library." Fernandez added that while the idea of a museum is still in its infancy, there is no doubt that it could become a much bigger entity.
Anthony Squire, another member of the Union City Historical Committee, added that originally, "the ultimate goal was to have a Union City Room, a place for people to be amazed by the history of Union City. A place for residents to do genealogical searches and for children to see why their parents chose to come to Union City when they could have gone anywhere they wanted in the country."
However, said Fernandez, "We are getting so much stuff [from various Union City residents] that really a Union City room will probably turn into a much bigger thing."
Added Rojas, "That’s the thing about this whole project – the rewards are built in. The more you take the time to dig, the more you find. For instance, Union City has a huge history of burlesque, and there are people now that are trying to bring the heyday of the arts back to Union City."
Fernandez echoed Rojas’ sentiments when he added, "I really think there is a big push in Union City to bring back the history of Union City. There is a push for all things cultural."
Fernandez certainly has a direct effect on this. He is one of the directors of the Park Theater, an organization which is doing its best to bring the arts to a position of prominence in Union City. The recent Multi-Arts Festival was proof that many people in the area hunger for art, no matter what form it takes. Be it dance, acting, music, painting, or sculpture, there is a strong artistic undercurrent that is only now – thanks to organizations like the Park Theater – coming to the fore.
As Fernandez and the others explained it, the overall objective of their effort is to bring Union City out of the decades-long shadow in which it has been trapped. This shadow causes people who do not hail from the city to treat it as a cast-off, the detritus of urban America.
According to Squire, much of Union City’s beauty has been covered up by vinyl siding and cookie-cutter facades, a result of misguided past attempts at "progress."
Said Squire, "One thing that is going on in Union City is the rapid development, all in the name of rateables. That’s all well and good, but a lot of the older residents are mourning the loss of many of the original buildings. To them, the younger generation thinks this is just progress, but the older people see it as an affront to their history."
Added Squire, "I think that if a developer comes along and absolutely wants to destroy a building that is at least 100 years old, pictures should be taken that at the very least document what the building looked like when a change was made."
Rojas summed up the feelings of the group when he stated, "We, as a group, are proud to be from Union City."