Last Story

People

Political and Financial Institutions

Civic, Social and Religious Organizations

City Hall

Since its construction in 1883, City Hall has been the center of Hoboken’s political life, headquarters for routine business, witness to riotous elections and occasional visits by movie stars, and, for a time, host to an armory and the longshoremen’s shape up for work on the docks.

94 Washington Street

west

8.7

downtown

Scroll to Discover

Next Story

94

You Are Here

Back to Top

Back to top

Designed by local architect Francis C. Himpler and constructed in 1883 on land formerly used as a marketplace, Hoboken’s City Hall faces the city’s main artery, Washington Street. Prior to the Hall’s construction, city business was conducted at 209 Washington Street. In 1911, the building was enlarged, and its mansard roof converted into a third floor. Several years later, with U.S. entry into the Great War and Hoboken’s selection as the major port of embarkation for troops leaving for Europe, the third floor was modified for use as an armory. Later, in the 1970s, the floor was used as the hiring hall for the International Longshoremen’s Association.

McFeely and pals at City Hall

Photograph of Mayor Bernard McFeely (center, wearing a straw boater) and associates on the steps of City Hall, 94 Washington Street, circa 1935.

McFeely and pals at City Hall

Italian Americans continued to control City Hall for the next four decades. Although both candidates in the 1985 mayoral election were Italian American men from established Hoboken families, the contrast between them was stark. The incumbent, former policeman Steve Cappiello, had been in office since 1973, and was heralding the city’s wave of real estate development as a positive turn; his challenger, Tom Vezzetti, had only acquired a seat on the Council three years before and warned—often using a bullhorn as he walked The Avenue—of the dangers of gentrification. Vezzetti won, but died in office, only serving until 1988.

City Hall 1914

Postcard of City Hall, circa 1914. HHM Catalog # 20070401280

City Hall 1914

City Hall 1914

The hiring hall for the International Longshoremen’s Association was on the top floor of Hoboken’s City Hall for many years. Photo by longshoreman Donald “Red” Barrett, circa 1970. HHM Catalog # 20010670009

City Hall upstairs

City Hall 1914

YMCA lounge 20011260010

Interior photograph of the lounge at the YMCA, 1300 Washington Street, 1927.

YMCA lounge 20011260010

City Hall 1885

Photograph of City Hall, circa 1885.

City Hall 1885

Since 1855, when the City of Hoboken was chartered, 38 individuals have held the office of mayor. Stories abound about all their administrations, but we can only mention a few. Mayor Bernard N. McFeely, who held office for 17 years, was known for his tight grip on the city—including its purse strings, with several dozen relatives on the payroll—and his relentless punishment of his adversaries. The political dominance of Irish Americans, which his administration personified, ended in 1947 with his defeat by an Italian American, Fred M. DeSapio. Italians had been the leading foreign-born population in Hoboken since the early 1930s, but they had been politically powerless until DeSapio’s win. Soon after, Hoboken’s most famous native son, Frank Sinatra, would stop by to revel in DeSapio’s win, signing autographs on the steps of City Hall.

Sinatra signs

Photograph of Frank Sinatra signing autographs on City Hall steps, Hoboken, 1947. Mayor De Sapio is looking over Sinatra’s left shoulder. HHM Catalog # 20040020001

Sinatra signs

The twenty-first century brought greater changes to the profile of Hoboken mayors: The city’s first female mayor, Dawn Zimmer, served from 2009 to 2017, followed by Hoboken’s first Sikh mayor, Ravinder Bhalla, who remains in office.

Vezzetti with class

Photograph of Mayor Tom Vezzetti with an elementary school class in his office in City Hall, circa 1986. Vezzetti’s trademark megaphone is on his desk and the sign at the center reads: “Tom Vezzetti, Your Mayor.” HHM Catalog # 20090200010

Vezzetti with class

YMCA pool 20011260016

Interior photograph of the pool at the YMCA, 1300 Washington Street, 1927.

YMCA pool 20011260016

Back to Top

Back to top

Building Banks in the Gilded Age

Text Link

City Hall

Text Link

Parades on Washington Street

Text Link

Athletic Clubs and Circus Arts: Washington Street Tumblers, Swimmers, and Bowlers

Text Link

Marcus Jewelers: “If Marcus Can’t Fix Your Watch, He Will Give You a New One”

Text Link

Clothing Emporiums and Mighty Mom & Pop Shops

Text Link

The Camera Comes to Hoboken: Photography Studios and Camera Clubs

Text Link

Lallo’s House of Charles Men's Wear: “From Underwear to Upperwear”

Text Link

Social Clubs & Fraternal Organizations

Text Link

United Decorating: “Decorations for All Occasions"

Text Link

A Place for Sweets and Socializing: Schnackenberg’s Luncheonette

Text Link

Artists on The Avenue

Text Link

Giorgio’s Pasticceria Italiana

Text Link

The Elysian Apartments or "Yellow Flats"

Text Link

Theaters on The Avenue

Text Link

719-721 Washington Street

Text Link

From Early Black Ownership to Current-day Bank

Text Link

Changing Transportation and Technology

Text Link

Liquor is Quicker: Selling Booze on the Avenue

Text Link

A Century of Baked Goods

Text Link