Let us go back and revisit the Twentieth Century, perhaps the most momentous century in human history. Here at the Sidewalk’s Retrospective, we would like to revisit by doing a piece on as many of the important, interesting events in New Jersey history as we possibly can, in no specific sequence whatsoever.
In the meantime, here in chronological order are important moments in the state’s history that we hope to get to…
In 1904, Thomas Edison films The Great Train Robbery. In 1908, the Hudson and Manhattan tubes, which today are now PATH, opens under the Hudson River. The U.S. Supreme Court orders the break up of Standard Oil Company of New Jersey for the violation of Sherman Antitrust Act in 1911. In 1912, New Jersey Governor Woodrow Wilson is elected President of the United States.
In 1913, in Paterson, Silk workers go on strike and in 1915, Standard Oil Company workers strike in Bayonne. On July 30, 1916, there is the Black Tom ammunition depot explosion in Jersey City. In 1919, Paterson textile workers strike for a 44-hour week.
In 1921 the Port of New York Authority is established and in 1922, WOR begins broadcasting. Standard Oil establishes an eight-hour work day in 1925, and in 1927, the Holland Tunnel is opened. In 1928 Newark Airport and the Goethals Bridge are opened.
The George Washington Memorial Bridge, Bayonne Bridge, Kill Van Kull bridge and Holland Tunnel open in 1931. In 1933, the Pulaski Skyway is completed. In 1933, the first drive-in movie theater opens in Camden.
The Morro Castle catches fire off the coast of New Jersey in 1934, and the Hindenburg explodes over Lakehurst Naval Air Station in 1937. Also in 1937, Roosevelt Stadium opens in Jersey City.
In 1938, Orson Welles broadcasts the radio play War of the Worlds about Martians landing in West Windsor.
In 1942, the United States government seizes the General Cable plant in Bayonne to end a strike. The transistor is developed at Bell Labs in Murray Hill in 1948, and the New Jersey Civil Rights Acts passes in 1949.
In 1951, the first 53 miles of the New Jersey Turnpike opens, and the Garden State Parkway opens in 1955. In 1961, the first enclosed shopping mall on the East Coast opens in Cherry Hill.
Rioting in Newark lasted for six days in July of 1967, and New Jersey lottery approved to raise money for state government and education in 1969.
Rutgers College becomes coed in 1972. In 1976, Liberty State Park in Jersey City is opened. In 1979, the Pinelands Preservation Act passes.
In 1981, the Brendan Byrne Arena opens and in 1983, the Mt. Laurel II decision is issued by the New Jersey Supreme Court. In 1985, Roosevelt Stadium in Jersey City is demolished to make way for housing. In 1989, the construction of Interstate 78 is completed.
In 1997, the New Jersey Performing Arts Center opens in Newark. In 1998 the US Supreme Court ruled New Jersey’s right to control 24.5 of the 27.5 acres of Ellis Island, and Hurricane Floyd in 1999.
The Hudson-Bergen Light Rail service begins operation in 2000, the last year of the century.
Retrospective 