Twenty-eight years after Nathan Marcus, a second generation American of Austrian Jewish descent, established his watch and jewelry business at 106 Washington Street, he launched a major renovation, giving his store a mid-twentieth century modern look that clearly distinguished it from the main street facades of the past century. The 1954 “Grand Opening” celebration heralded the store’s modern metal and glass façade, festooned by Washington Street neighbor United Decorating Company, and featured a ribbing-cutting with Mayor John Grogan and crowds of well-wishers dressed in suits and furs. Marcus, his wife Anna, and the store’s salespeople, would later line up for photos in the gleaming new interior.
Black and white photo of Nathan Marcus (second from left), his wife Anna (third), and salespeople in the interior of the newly renovated Marcus Jewelers, 106 Washington Street, April 3, 1954. HHM Catalog # 20022420005
Nathan & Anna Marcus & salespeople
A year after the “Grand Opening,” Marcus accomplished another milestone. He became president of the United Synagogue of Hoboken. Although the city’s Jewish population had never been very large—the largest number of Jewish residents, about 3,500, was in the late 1930s—prominent Jewish businessmen like Marcus, clothier Herman Geismar, insurance salesmen Moe Aronsberg, and others, were often in the news for their efforts to keep Washington Street viable and for their contributions to the city and the Jewish community.
More than seven decades after its founding by Nathan Marcus, Marcus Jewelers closed its doors. The advertising wall clock that had announced the shop’s proud position as a “R.R. watch inspector” is now in the collection of the Hoboken Historical Museum.
Interior photograph of the lounge at the YMCA, 1300 Washington Street, 1927.
YMCA lounge 20011260010
Advertising wall clock from Marcus Jewelers, 106 Washington Street, circa 1940. HHM Catalog # 20060310021-3
Marcus Jewelers wall clock
With the pull of the suburbs after World War II, Hoboken had begun to lose population, but business on the Avenue for a respected jeweler and watch repairmen remained robust. Large local employers like Lipton Tea and Maxwell House Coffee were still in town—and that meant customers. And Marcus Jewelers’s slogan, “If Marcus Can’t Fix Your Watch, He Will Give you a New One,” was also a draw for another group of residents and visitors. Marcus was an Official Railroad Watch inspector, which meant he was well-placed to maintain the essential timepieces of the many railway engineers, conductors, and trainmen who worked for the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad, the eastern terminus of which was at Hudson Place in Hoboken, just a few blocks away from the store.
Black and white photo of the exterior of Marcus Jewelers grand re-opening, 106 Washington Street, 1954. HHM Catalog # 20022420001
Marcus Jewelers reopening exterior
Interior photograph of the pool at the YMCA, 1300 Washington Street, 1927.
YMCA pool 20011260016
