WESTWOOD, N.J.—Photographed from across an (unpaved) Washington Avenue, this is the park in downtown Westwood as it looked around 1910. Of course, minus the leafy canopy, walkways, bandstand, and war memorials, it wasn’t much of a park back then—more like an open space in the center of town. And while we do not know the identities of the men in this scene, there is so much history captured in this 115-year-old image.
The little wagon next to the sidewalk was Westwood’s first fast food joint. Its owners perhaps had delusions of grandeur, but more likely an excellent sense of humor, in naming this place the Palace Cafe. It was a “quick lunch” wagon, forerunner to today’s food trucks.
To the left of the lunch wagon is Westwood’s original train station. Built when the railroad first came to Westwood in 1870, this depot, made of wood, was located right on the corner of Westwood Avenue and Broadway adjacent to the roadway (with about two dozen houses in all of Westwood when the railroad came through, traffic was less of a concern at the time). The present train station, made of stone and set back into the park, was completed in 1932.
In news articles of the 1920s, this section of open space in downtown Westwood was often referred to as Center Park. With the new station built there, in the 1930s it became Station Plaza Park. On Memorial Day in 1949, it was officially renamed to Veterans Memorial Park.
Beyond the station, on the left edge of the photograph, the general store can be seen. This building, constructed in 1869, was the first store in Westwood. With the train station and general store both located here, this was the nucleus of Westwood. This was where residents congregated not just to do their shopping, but also to catch up on local happenings. In place of the general store, we now have the bank building, the tallest structure in Westwood’s streetscape.
Finally, in the background behind the men, the long one-story building was Demarest’s livery stable. This was a place where horses could be boarded or rented. Most of our Pascack Valley towns had a livery stable close to the railroad station, ready to loan transportation to people coming off the train.
In 1910, horse-drawn wagons and early automobiles were sharing the roads.