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.
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.
Postcard of City Hall, circa 1914. HHM Catalog # 20070401280
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
Interior photograph of the lounge at the YMCA, 1300 Washington Street, 1927.
YMCA lounge 20011260010
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.
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.
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
Interior photograph of the pool at the YMCA, 1300 Washington Street, 1927.
YMCA pool 20011260016
